\ 


THE  SUNDERING  FLOOD 
BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS 


LONGMANS,   GREEN,  AND    CO. 

FOURTH  AVENUE  6-  30TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

LONDON,  BOMBAY  AND   CALCUTTA 

I910 


29443 


Copyright,  1897,  by  Longmans,  Green,  and  Co. 


First  Edition  December,   1897 
Reprinted  January,   1910 


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CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Ci'i?/!.  /.      O/"*?  ^/c^r  f/7/Z?d'  tbe  Sundering  Flood,  and 

of  the  Folk  that  dwelt  thereby      ...  1 

//.      Of  Wethermel  and  the  Child  Osberne     .      .  8 

///.      IVohes  harry  the  Flock 15 

IV.      Surly  John  falls  out  with  the  Goodman    .      .  20 

r.      Osberne  slays  the   Wolves 24 

VI.      They  fare  to  the   Cloven  Mote      ....  28 
VII.      Of  a  'Newcomer,  and  his  Gift  to  Osberne     .  34 
VIII.      The  Goodman  gets  a  new  Hired  Man      .      .  40 
IX.      The  Bight  of  the  Cloven  Knoll   ....  43 
X.      Osberne  and  Elfhild  hold  Converse  together  5 1 
XI.      Osberne  shoots  a  Gift  across  the  Flood     .      .  58 
XII.      Of  a  Guest  called  Waywearer      ....  65 
XIII.      Steelhead  gives   Osberne  the  Sword  Board- 
cleaver    70 

XIV.      Steelhead  takes  Leave  of  Osberne       ...  75 

XV.      Surly  John  brings  a  Guest  to  Wethermel     .  78 

XVI.      Hardcastle  would  seize   Wethermel    ...  85 

XVII.      Osberne  slayeth  Hardcastle 93 

XVIII.      Osberne  tells  Elfhild  of  the  Killing  of  Hard- 
castle         97 

XIX.      The   Winter  passes,  and  Elfhild  tells  of  the 

Death  of  her  Kinswoman 100 

XX.      Osberne  fares  to  East  Cheaping    and  brings 

Gifts  for  Elfhild 105 

XXI.      Warriors  from   East  Cheaping  ride  into  the 

Dale 109 

XXII.      Osberne  takes  Leave  of  Elfhild     .      .      .      .  1 1 4 

XXIII.      Osberne  is  chosen  Captain  of  the  Dalesmen    .  119 
XXIV.      A  Skirmish  with  the  Baron  of  Deepdale  in 

the  Marshes 125 


VI 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Ci?a/>.  XX F.      Stephen  tells  of  an  Adventure  in  the  Camp 

of  the  Foemen 133 

XXVI.      They  bring  the  Baron  into  East  Cheaping  141 

XXV 11.      Thej  parley  from  the  Walls      ....  147 

XXV 111.      The  Baron  of  Deepdale  makes  Peace  .      .  154 
XXIX.      Osberne  and  his  Men  return  to  Wether- 

mel 157 

XXX.      Osberne  goes  to  the  Trysting-place       .     .  162 

XX XL      They  meet  through  Autumn  and  Winter   .  175 

XXXII.      Foemen  among  the  West  Dalers     .      .     .  177 

XXXIII.      Osberne  seeks  Tidings  of  Elfhild   .      .     .  184 

XXXIV.      Osberne  sorrows  for  the  Loss  of  Elfhild     .  187 

XXXV.      Osberne  seeks  Counsel  of  Steelhead       .     .  194 

XXXVI.      The  Staves  which  Osberne  taught  to  the 

Dalesmen zoo 

XXXV 1 1.      Osberne  takes  Leave  of  Wethermel      .      .  203 

XXXVIII.      Osberne  parts  from  Stephen  the  Eater       .  208 

XXXIX.      Osberne  gets  him  a  New  Master   .     .      .  210 

XL.      Osberne  rides  with  Sir  Godrick      .      .      .  219 

XL  I.      They  joust  with  the  Knight  of  the  Fish    .  226 

XL  1 1.      They  deliver  the  Thorpe-dwellers  from  the 

Black  Skimmers 230 

XL  1 1 1.      They  come  to  the  Edge  of  the  Wood  Mas- 
ter less      234 

XL  IV.      They  reach   Longs  haw,  and  Osberne  gets 

him  a  New  Name 239 

XLV.      The  Red   Lad  scatters  the  Host  of   the 

Barons 245 

XLV  I.      Osberne  enters  the   City  of  the  Sundering 

Flood 252 

XLV  1 1.      The  Battle  in  the  Square 256 

XLV  1 1 1.      Sir    Godrick    is   chosen   Bur gr  eve   of  the 

City 262 

XLIX.      The  Red  Lad  takes  Leave  of  Sir  Godrick  268 
L.      The   Red  Lad   speaks  privily    with     Sir 

Godrick 271 

LI.      Osberne  is  beguiled  by  Felons   .      .      .      .  275 

LI  I.      The  Meeting  of  Osberne  and  Elfhild .     .  281 


CONTENTS 


vu 


PAGE 


Chap.  LI  1 1. 

LW. 

LV. 

LVL 

LVIL 

LVIll. 

LIX. 

LX. 
LXL 

LXIL 
LXIII. 

LXIF. 

Lxr. 

LXVL 


They  come  to  Wethermel,  and  the  Car  line 

begins  a  Tale 288 

The  Blue  Knight  buys  the  Maiden  of  the 

Chapman 299 

The  Blue  Knight  talks  with  the  Maiden 

by  the  Way 310 

They  come  to  Brookside 317 

The  Maiden   hears  Tidings  of  a    Young 

Champion  at  Longshaw  .  .  .  .  326 
The  Blue   Knight    and    his    Host    leave 

Brookside 332 

The   Maiden  and  the  Car  line  flee  to  the 

Grey  Sisters 338 

They  fall  in  with  three  Chapmen  .  .  .  343 
They    escape  from   the   Chapmen   by    the 

Car  line''  s  Wizardry 349 

The  Car  line  endeth  her  Tale  .  .  .  .  355 
Osberne    and    Elfhild    make    themselves 

known  to  their  People 363 

The  Lip  of  the  Sundering  Flood     .      .      .      365 

A  Friend  at  Need 368 

The  Lord  of  Longshaw  gather eth  Force    .      371 


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THE    SUNDERING    FLOOD. 

CHAPTER  I.  OF  A  RIVER  CALLED 
THE  SUNDERING  FLOOD,  AND  OF 
THE  FOLK  THAT  DWELT  THEREBY. 

IT  is  told  that  there  was  once  a  mighty  river 
which  ran  south  into  the  sea,  and  at  the 
mouth  thereof  was  a  great  and  rich  city, 
which  had  been  builded  and  had  waxed  and 
thriven  because  of  the  great  and  most  excellent 
haven  which  the  river  aforesaid  made  where  it 
fell  into  the  sea,  and  now  it  was  like  looking  at 
a  huge  wood  of  barked  and  smoothened  fir-trees 
when  one  saw  the  masts  of  the  ships  that  lay  in 
the  said  haven. 

But  up  this  river  ran  the  flood  of  tide  a  long 
way,  so  that  the  biggest  of  dromonds  and  round- 
ships  might  fare  along  it,  and  oft  they  lay  amid 
pleasant  up-country  places,  with  their  yards  all 
but  touching  the  windows  of  the  husbandman's 
stead,  and  their  bowsprits  thrusting  forth  amongst 
the  middens,  and  the  routing  swine,  and  queru- 
lous hens ;  and  the  uneasy  lads  and  lasses  sitting 
at  high-mass  of  the  Sunday  in  the  grey  village 
church  would  see  the  tall  masts  dimly  amidst  the 
painted  saints  of  the  aisle  windows,  and  their 
minds  would  wander  from  the  mass-hackled  priest 
and  the  words  and  the  gestures  of  him,  and  see 
visions  of  far  countries  and  outlandish  folk,  and 
some  would  be  heart-smitten  with  that  desire  of 


2  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

wandering  and  looking  on  new  things  which  so 
oft  the  sea-beat  board  and  the  wind-strained  pine 
bear  with  them  to  the  dwellings  of  the  stay-at- 
homes  :  and  to  some  it  seemed  as  if,  when  they 
went  from  out  the  church,  they  should  fall  in 
with  St.  Thomas  of  India  stepping  over  the  gang- 
way, and  come  to  visit  their  uplandish  Christmas 
and  the  Yule-feast  of  the  field-abiders  of  mid- 
winter frost.  And  moreover,  when  the  tide 
failed,  and  there  was  no  longer  a  flood  to  bear  the 
sea-going  keels  up-stream,  and  that  was  hard  on 
an  hundred  of  miles  from  the  sea,  yet  was  this 
great  river  a  noble  and  wide-spreading  water,  and 
the  downlong  stream  thereof  not  so  heavy  nor  so 
fierce  but  that  the  barges  and  lesser  keels  might 
well  spread  their  sails  when  the  south-west  wind 
blew,  and  fare  on  without  beating ;  or  if  the  wind 
were  fouler  for  them,  they  that  were  loth  to  reach 
from  shore  to  shore  might  be  tracked  up  by  the 
draught  of  horses  and  bullocks,  and  bear  the 
wares  of  the  merchants  to  many  a  cheaping. 

Other  rivers  moreover  not  a  few  fell  into  this 
main  flood,  and  of  them  were  some  no  lesser  than 
the  Thames  is  at  Abingdon,  where  I,  who 
gathered  this  tale,  dwell  in  the  House  of  the 
Black  Canons ;  blessed  be  St.  William,  and  St. 
Richard,  and  the  Holy  Austin  our  candle  in  the 
dark  !  Yea  and  some  were  even  bigger,  so  that 
the  land  was  well  furnished  both  of  fisheries  and 
water-ways. 

Now  the  name  of  this  river  was  the  Sundering 
Flood,  and   the  city   at   the   mouth  thereof  was 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  3 

called  the  City  of  the  Sundering  Flood.  And  it 
is  no  wonder,  considering  all  that  I  have  told 
concerning  the  wares  and  chaffer  that  it  bore  up- 
country,  though  the  folk  of  the  City  and  its 
lands,  and  the  city-folk  in  special,  knew  no  cause 
for  this  name.  Nay,  oft  they  jested  and  gibed 
and  gabbed,  for  they  loved  their  river  much  and 
were  proud  of  it ;  wherefore  they  said  it  was  no 
sunderer  but  a  uniter  ;  that  it  joined  land  to  land 
and  shore  to  shore  ;  that  it  had  peopled  the  wil- 
derness and  made  the  waste  places  blossom,  and 
that  no  highway  for  wheels  and  beasts  in  all  the 
land  was  so  full  of  blessings  and  joys  as  was  their 
own  wet  Highway  of  the  Flood.  Nevertheless,  as 
meseemeth  that  no  name  is  given  to  any  town  or 
mountain  or  river  causeless,  but  that  men  are 
moved  to  name  all  steads  for  a  remembrance  of 
deeds  that  have  been  done  and  tidings  that  have 
befallen,  or  some  one  cause,  even  so  might  it  well 
be  with  the  Sundering  Flood,  and  whereas  also  I 
wot  something  of  that  cause  I  shall  now  presently 
show  you  the  same. 

For  ye  must  know  that  all  this  welfare  of  the 
said  mighty  river  was  during  that  while  that  it 
flowed  through  the  plain  country  anigh  the  city, 
or  the  fertile  pastures  and  acres  of  hill  and  dale 
and  down,  further  to  the  north.  But  one  who 
should  follow  it  up  further  and  further  would 
reach  at  last  the  place  where  it  came  forth  from 
the  mountains.  There,  though  it  be  far  smaller 
than  lower  down,  yet  is  it  still  a  mighty  great 
water,  and  it  is  then  well  two  hundred  miles  from 


4  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

the  main  sea.  Now  from  the  mountains  it 
Cometh  in  three  great  forces,  and  many  smaller 
ones,  and  perilous  and  awful  is  it  to  behold ;  for 
betwixt  those  forces  it  filleth  all  the  mountain 
ghyll,  and  there  is  no  foothold  for  man,  nay  for 
goat,  save  at  a  hundred  foot  or  more  above  the 
water,  and  that  evil  and  perilous;  and  as  is  the 
running  of  a  winter  mill-stream  to  the  beetles 
and  shrew-mice  that  haunt  the  greensward  beside 
it,  so  is  the  running  of  that  flood  to  the  sons  of 
Adam  and  the  beasts  that  serve  them  :  and  none 
has  been  so  bold  as  to  strive  to  cast  a  bridge 
across  it. 

But  when  ye  have  journeyed  with  much  toil  and 
no  little  peril  over  the  mountain-necks,  for  by  the 
gorge  of  the  river,  as  aforesaid,  no  man  may  go, 
and  have  come  out  of  the  mountains  once  more, 
then  again  ye  have  the  flood  before  you,  cleaving 
a  great  waste  of  rocks  mingled  with  sand,  where 
groweth  neither  tree  nor  bush  nor  grass  ;  and  now 
the  flood  floweth  wide  and  shallow  but  swift,  so 
that  no  words  may  tell  of  its  swiftness,  and  on 
either  side  the  water  are  great  wastes  of  tumbled 
stones  that  the  spates  have  borne  down  from  the 
higher  ground.  And  ye  shall  know  that  from 
this  place  upward  to  its  very  wells  in  the  higher 
mountains,  the  flood  decreaseth  not  much  in  body 
or  might,  though  it  be  wider  or  narrower  as  it  is 
shallower  or  deeper,  for  nought  but  mere  trickles 
of  water  fall  into  it  in  the  space  of  this  sandy  waste, 
and  what  feeding  it  hath  is  from  the  bents  and 
hills  on  either  side  as  you  wend  toward  the  moun- 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  5 

tains  to  the   north,  where,   as   aforesaid,   are  its 
chiefest  wells. 

Now  when  ye  have  journeyed  over  this  waste 
for  some  sixty  miles  the  land  begins  to  better,  and 
there  is  grass  again,  yet  no  trees,  and  it  rises  into 
bents,  which  go  back  on  each  side,  east  and  west, 
from  the  Flood,  and  the  said  bents  are  grass  also 
up  to  the  tops,  where  they  are  crested  with  sheer 
rocks  black  of  colour.  As  for  the  Flood  itself,  it 
is  now  gathered  into  straiter  compass,  and  is  deep, 
and  exceeding  strong  ;  high  banks  it  hath  on  either 
side  thereof  of  twenty  foot  and  upward  of  black 
rock  going  down  sheer  to  the  water  ;  and  thus  it  is 
for  a  long  way,  save  that  the  banks  be  higher  and 
higher  as  the  great  valley  of  the  river  rises  toward 
the  northern  mountains. 

But  as  it  rises  the  land  betters  yet,  and  is  well 
grassed,  and  in  divers  nooks  and  crannies  groweth 
small  wood  of  birch  and  whiles  of  quicken  tree ; 
but  ever  the  best  of  the  grass  waxeth  nigh  unto  the 
lips  of  the  Sundering  Flood,  where  it  rises  a  little 
from  the  Dale  to  the  water ;  and  what  little  acre- 
land  there  is,  and  it  is  but  little,  is  up  on  knolls 
that  lie  nearer  to  the  bent,  and  be  turned  somewhat 
southward  ;  or  on  the  east  side  of  the  Flood,  which 
runneth  here  nigh  due  north  to  south,  on  the  bent- 
side  itself,  where,  as  it  windeth  and  turneth,  certain 
slopes  lie  turned  to  south-west.  And  in  these 
places  be  a  few  garths,  fenced  against  the  deer, 
wherein  grow  rye,  and  some  little  barley  whereof 
to  make  malt  for  beer  and  ale,  whereas  the  folk 
of  this  high-up  windy  valley  may  have  no  comfort 


6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

of  wine.  And  it  is  to  be  said  that  ever  is  the  land 
better  and  the  getting  more  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Sundering  Flood  than  on  the  west. 

As  to  the  folk  of  this  land,  they  are  but  few 
even  now,  and  belike  were  fewer  yet  in  the  time 
of  my  tale.  There  was  no  great  man  amongst 
them,  neither  King,  nor  Earl,  nor  Alderman,  and 
it  had  been  hard  living  for  a  strong-thief  in  the 
Dale.  Yet  folk  there  were  both  on  the  east  side 
and  the  west  of  the  Flood.  On  neither  side  were 
they  utterly  cut  off  from  the  world  outside  the 
Dale  ;  for  though  it  were  toilsome  it  was  not  peril- 
ous to  climb  the  bents  and  so  wend  over  the  necks 
east  and  west,  where  some  forty  miles  from  the 
west  bank  and  fifty  from  the  east  you  might  come 
down  into  a  valley  fairly  well  peopled,  wherein 
were  two  or  three  cheaping-towns :  and  to  these 
towns  the  dalesmen  had  some  resort,  that  they 
might  sell  such  of  their  wool  as  they  needed  not 
to  weave  for  themselves,  and  other  small  chaffer, 
so  that  they  might  buy  wrought  wares  such  as 
cutlery  and  pots,  and  above  all  boards  and  timber, 
whereof  they  had  nought  at  home. 

But  this  you  must  wot  and  understand,  that 
howsoever  the  Sundering  Flood  might  be  mis- 
named down  below,  up  in  the  Dale  and  down 
away  to  the  southern  mountains  it  was  such  that 
better  named  it  might  not  be,  and  that  nought 
might  cross  its  waters  undrowned  save  the  fowl 
flying.  Nay,  and  if  one  went  up-stream  to  where 
it  welled  forth  from  the  great  mountains,  he  were 
no  nearer  to  passing  from  one  side  to  the  other,  for 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  7 

there  would  be  nought  before  him  but  a  wall  of 
sheer  rock,  and  above  that  rent  and  tumbled  crags, 
the  safe  strong-houses  of  erne  and  osprey  and  ger- 
falcon. Wherefore  all  the  dealings  which  the  folk 
on  the  east  Dale  and  the  west  might  have  with 
each  other  was  but  shouting  and  crying  across  the 
swirling  and  gurgling  eddies  of  the  black  water, 
which  themselves  the  while  seemed  to  be  talking 
together  in  some  dread  and  unknown  tongue. 

True  it  is  that  on  certain  feast  days,  and  above 
all  on  Midsummer  night,  the  folk  would  pluck  up 
a  heart,  and  gather  together  as  gaily  clad  as  might 
be  where  the  Flood  was  the  narrowest,  save  at  one 
place,  whereof  more  hereafter,  and  there  on  each 
side  would  trundle  the  fire-wheel,  and  do  other 
Midsummer  games,  and  make  music  of  string- 
play  and  horns,  and  sing  songs  of  old  time  and 
drink  to  each  other,  and  depart  at  last  to  their  own 
homes  blessing  each  other.  But  never  might  any 
man  on  the  east  touch  the  hand  of  any  on  the  west, 
save  it  were  that  by  some  strange  wandering  from 
the  cheaping-towns  aforesaid  they  might  meet  at 
last,  far  and  far  off  from  the  Dale  of  the  Sunder- 
ing Flood. 


CHAPTER  II.     OF  WETHERMEL  AND 
THE   CHILD    OSBERNE. 

DRAW  we  nigher  now  to  the  heart  of  our 
tale,  and  tell  how  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Sundering  Flood  was  erewhile  a  stead  hight 
Wethermel  :  a  stead  more  lonely  than  most  even  in 
that  Dale,  the  last  house  but  one,  and  that  was  but 
a  cot,  toward  the  mountains  at  the  head  of  the 
Dale.  It  was  not  ill  set  down,  for  its  houses  stood 
beneath  a  low  spreading  knoll,  the  broader  side 
whereof  was  turned  to  the  south-west,  and  where 
by  consequence  was  good  increase  of  corn  year  by 
year.  The  said  knoll  of  Wethermel  was  amidst 
of  the  plain  of  the  Dale  a  mile  from  the  water- 
side, and  all  round  about  it  the  pasture  was  good 
for  kine  and  horses  and  sheep  all  to  the  water's 
lip  on  the  west  and  half  way  up  the  bent  on  the 
east ;  while  towards  the  crown  of  the  bent  was  a 
wood  of  bushes  good  for  firewood  and  charcoal, 
and  even  beyond  the  crown  of  the  bent  was  good 
sheep-land  a  long  way. 

Nevertheless,  though  its  land  was  fruitful  as  for 
that  country,  yet  had  Wethermel  no  great  name 
for  luck,  and  folk  who  had  the  choice  would  liever 
dwell  otherwhere,  so  that  it  was  hard  for  the  good- 
man  to  get  men  to  work  there  for  hire.  Many 
folk  deemed  that  this  ill-luck  came  because  the 
knoll  had  been  of  old  time  a  dwelling  of  the  Dwarfs 
or  the  Land-wights,  and  that  they  grudged  it  that 
the  children  of  Adam  had  supplanted  them,  and 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  9 

that  corn  grew  on  the  very  roof  of  their  ancient 
house.  But  however  that  might  be,  there  was 
httle  thriving  there  for  the  most  part :  and  at  least 
it  was  noted  by  some,  that  if  there  were  any  good 
hap  it  ever  missed  one  generation,  and  went  not 
from  father  to  son,  but  from  grandsire  to  grand- 
son :  and  even  so  it  was  now  at  the  beginning  of 
this  tale. 

For  he  who  had  been  master  of  Wethermel  had 
died  a  young  man,  and  his  wife  followed  him  in  a 
month  or  two,  and  there  was  left  in  the  house  but 
the  father  and  mother  of  these  twain,  hale  and 
stout  folk,  he  of  fifty  winters,  she  of  forty-five ; 
an  old  woman  of  seventy,  a  kinswoman  of  the 
house  who  had  fostered  the  late  goodman  ;  and  a 
little  lad  who  had  to  name  Osberne,  now  twelve 
winters  old,  a  child  strong  and  bold,  tall,  bright 
and  beauteous.  These  four  were  all  the  folk  of 
Wethermel,  save  now  and  then  a  hired  man  who 
was  hard  pressed  for  livelihood  would  be  got  to 
abide  there  some  six  months  or  so.  It  must  be 
told  further  that  there  was  no  house  within  ten 
miles  either  up  or  down  the  water  on  that  side, 
save  the  little  cot  abovesaid  nigher  to  the  moun- 
tains, and  that  was  four  miles  up-stream  ;  it  hight 
Burcot,  and  was  somewhat  kenspeckle.  Withal 
as  to  those  Cloven  Motes,  as  they  were  called, 
which  were  between  the  folk  on  either  side,  they 
were  holden  at  a  stead  seven  miles  below  Wether- 
mel, so  that  in  all  wise  was  it  a  lonely  and  scantly- 
manned  abode  :  and  because  of  this  every  man  on 
the  stead  must  work  somewhat  hard  and  long  day 


lO  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

by  day,  and  even  Osberne  the  little  lad  must  do 
his  share  ;  and  up  to  this  time  we  tell  of,  his  work 
was  chiefly  about  the  houses,  or  else  it  was  on  the 
knoll,  or  round  about  it,  scaring  fowl  from  the 
corn  ;  weeding  the  acre-ground,  or  tending  the  old 
horses  that  fed  near  the  garth ;  or  goose-herding 
at  whiles.  Forsooth,  the  two  elders,  who  loved 
and  treasured  the  little  carle  exceedingly,  were 
loth  to  trust  him  far  out  of  sight  because  of  his 
bold  heart  and  wilful  spirit ;  and  there  were  perils 
in  the  Dale,  and  in  special  at  that  rough  and  wild 
end  thereof,  though  they  came  not  from  weaponed 
reivers  for  the  more  part,  though  now  and  again 
some  desperate  outcast  from  the  thicker  peopled 
lands  had  strayed  into  it ;  and  there  was  talk  from 
time  to  time  of  outlaws  who  lay  out  over  the 
mountain  necks,  and  might  not  always  do  to  lack 
a  sheep  or  a  neat  or  a  horse.  Other  perils  more 
of  every-day  there  were  for  a  young  child,  as  the 
deep  and  hurrying  stream  of  the  Sundering  Flood, 
and  the  wolves  which  haunted  the  bent  and  the 
foothills  of  the  mountains ;  and  ever  moreover 
there  was  the  peril  from  creatures  seldom  seen. 
Dwarfs  and  Land-wights  to  wit,  who,  as  all  tales 
told,  might  be  well  pleased  to  have  away  into  their 
realm  so  fair  a  child  of  the  sons  of  Adam  as  was 
this  Osberne.  Forsooth  for  the  most  part  the 
lad  kept  within  bounds,  for  love's  sake  rather  than 
fear,  though  he  wotted  well  that  beating  abode 
bound  breaking ;  but  ye  may  well  wot  that  this 
quietness  might  not  always  be.  And  one  while 
amongst  others  he  was  missing  for  long,  and  when 


THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD  li 

his  grandsire  sought  him  he  found  him  at  last  half 
way  between  grass  and  water  above  the  fierce 
swirling  stream  of  the  river;  for  he  had  clomb 
down  the  sheer  rock  of  the  bank,  which  all  along 
the  water  is  fashioned  into  staves,  as  it  were  organ- 
pipes,  but  here  and  there  broken  by  I  wot  not 
what  mighty  power.  There  then  was  my  lad  in 
an  ingle-nook  of  the  rock,  and  not  able  either 
to  go  down  or  come  up,  till  the  goodman  let 
a  rope  down  to  him  and  hauled  him  on  to  the 
grass. 

Belike  he  was  a  little  cowed  by  the  peril,  and  the 
beating  he  got  for  putting  his  folk  in  such  fear ; 
but  though  he  was  somewhat  moved  by  his  gran- 
dame's  tears  and  lamentation  over  him,  and  no  less 
by  the  old  carline's  bewailing  for  his  days  that  he 
would  so  surely  shorten,  yet  this  was  not  by  a 
many  the  last  time  he  strayed  from  the  stead  away 
into  peril.  On  a  time  he  was  missing  again  night- 
long, but  in  the  morning  came  into  the  house  blithe 
and  merry,  but  exceeding  hungry,  and  when  the 
goodman  asked  him  where  he  had  been  and  bade 
him  whipping-cheer,  he  said  that  he  cared  little  if 
beaten  he  were,  so  merry  a  time  he  had  had ;  for 
he  had  gone  a  long  way  up  the  Dale,  and  about 
twilight,  this  was  in  mid-May,  had  fallen  in  with 
a  merry  lad  somewhat  bigger  than  himself,  who 
had  shown  him  many  merry  plays,  and  at  last  had 
brought  him  to  his  house,  which  is  not  builded 
of  stone  and  turf,  like  to  ours,  saith  he,  but  is  in 
a  hole  in  the  rock ;  and  there  we  wore  away  the 
night,  and  there  was  no  one  there  but  we  two,  and 


12  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

again  he  showed  me  more  strange  plays,  which 
were  wondrous  ;  but  some  did  frighten  me. 

Then  his  grandsire  asked  him  what  like  those 
plays  were.  Said  Osberne  :  He  took  a  stone  and 
stroked  it,  and  mumbled,  and  it  turned  into  a 
mouse,  and  played  with  us  nought  afraid  awhile; 
but  presently  it  grew  much  bigger,  till  it  was  bigger 
than  a  hare ;  and  great  game  meseemed  that  was, 
till  on  a  sudden  it  stood  on  its  hind-legs,  and  lo 
it  was  become  a  little  child,  and  oh,  but  so  much 
littler  than  1  ;  and  then  it  ran  away  from  us  into 
the  dark,  squeaking  the  while  like  a  mouse  behind 
the  panel,  only  louder.  Well,  thereafter,  my  play- 
mate took  a  big  knife,  and  said  :  Now,  drudgling, 
I  shall  show  thee  a  good  game  indeed.  And  so 
he  did,  for  he  set  the  edge  of  the  said  knife  against 
his  neck,  and  off  came  his  head ;  but  there  came 
no  blood,  nor  did  he  tumble  down,  but  took  up 
his  head  and  stuck  it  on  again,  and  then  stood 
crowing  like  our  big  red  cock.  Then  he  said : 
Poultry,  cockerel,  now  will  I  do  the  Hke  by  thee. 
And  he  came  to  me  with  the  knife ;  but  I  was 
afraid,  and  gat  hold  of  his  hand  and  had  the 
knife  from  him  ;  and  then  I  wrestled  with  him  and 
gave  him  a  fall  ;  but  I  must  needs  let  him  get  up 
again  presently,  whereas  he  grew  stronger  under 
my  hand  ;  then  he  thrust  me  from  him  and  laughed 
exceeding  much,  and  said:  Here  is  a  champion 
come  into  my  house  forsooth  !  Well,  I  will  leave 
thine  head  on  thy  shoulders,  for  belike  I  might 
not  be  able  to  stick  it  on  again,  which  were  a  pity 
of  thee,  for  a  champion  shalt  thou  verily  be  in  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  13 

days  to  come.  After  this  all  his  play  with  me  was 
to  sit  down  and  bid  me  hearken  ;  and  then  he  took 
out  a  little  pipe,  and  put  it  to  his  mouth,  and 
made  music  out  of  it,  which  was  both  sweet  and 
merry.  And  then  he  left  that,  and  fell  to  telling 
me  tales  about  the  woods  where  big  trees  grow, 
and  how  his  kindred  had  used  to  dwell  therein, 
and  fashioned  most  fair  things  in  smith's  work  of 
gold  and  silver  and  iron ;  and  all  this  liked  me 
well,  and  he  said :  I  tell  thee  that  one  day  thou 
shalt  have  a  sword  of  my  father's  father's  fashion- 
ing, and  that  will  be  an  old  one,  for  they  both 
were  long-lived.  And  as  he  spake  I  deemed  that 
he  was  not  like  a  child  any  more,  but  a  little  old 
man,  white-haired  and  wrinkle-faced,  but  without 
a  beard,  and  his  hair  shone  like  glass.  And  then, 
then  I  went  to  sleep,  and  when  I  woke  up  again 
it  was  morning,  and  I  looked  around  and  there  was 
no  one  with  me.  So  I  arose  and  came  home  to 
you,  and  I  am  safe  and  sound  if  thou  beat  me  not, 
kinsman. 

Now  ye  may  judge  if  his  fore-elders  were  not 
scared  by  the  lad's  tale,  for  they  knew  that  he  had 
fallen  in  with  one  of  the  Dwarf-kin,  and  his  gran- 
dame  caught  him  up  and  hugged  him  and  kissed 
him  well  favouredly  ;  and  the  carline,  whose  name 
was  Bridget,  followed  on  the  like  road ;  and  then 
she  said:  See  you,  kinsmen,  if  it  be  not  my  doing 
that  the  blessed  bairn  has  come  back  to  us.  Tell 
us,  sweetheart,  what  thou  hast  round  thy  neck 
under  thy  shirt.  Osberne  laughed.  Said  he : 
Thou  didst  hang  on  me  a  morsel  of  parchment 


14  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

with  signs  drawn  thereon,  and  it  is  done  in  a  silk, 
bag.  Fear  not,  foster-mother,  but  that  I  will  wear 
it  yet,  since  thou  makest  such  to-do  over  it.  Ah  ! 
the  kind  lad  thou  art,  my  dear,  said  the  carline. 
I  will  tell  you,  kinsmen,  that  I  had  that  said  parch- 
ment from  our  priest,  and  it  is  strong  neckguard 
against  all  evil  things,  for  on  it  is  scored  the  Holy 
Rood,  and  thereon  are  the  names  of  the  three 
Holy  Kings,  and  other  writing  withal  which  I  may 
not  read,  for  it  is  in  clerks'  Latin.  And  again  the 
two  women  made  much  of  the  little  lad,  while  the 
goodman  stood  by  grumbling  and  grunting ;  but 
this  time  did  Osberne  escape  his  beating,  though 
he  was  promised  a  drubbing  which  should  give 
him  much  to  think  on  if  he  went  that  way  again  ; 
and  the  women  prayed  and  besought  him  to  be 
obedient  to  the  goodman  herein. 

But  one  thing  he  had  not  told  his  kinsfolk,  to 
wit,  that  the  Dwarf  had  given  him  for  a  gift  that 
same  knife  wherewith  he  had  played  the  game  of 
heads-off,  and  a  fair  sheath  thereto,  and  he  had  done 
him  to  wit  that  most  like  luck  would  go  with  it. 
Wherefore  little  Osberne  had  the  said  knife  hidden 
under  his  raiment,  along  with  the  parchment 
whereon  was  scored  the  Holy  Rood  and  the  good 
words  of  wisdom  written. 


CHAPTER  III.     WOLVES  HARRY  THE 
FLOCK. 

NOW  these  matters,  and  other  strayings  and 
misdoings  of  the  youngling,  befell  before 
the  time  whereof  I  now  tell,  when  he  was, 
as  aforesaid,  passed  of  twelve  years  ;  and  it  was  in 
latter  autumn,  when  the  nights  are  lengthening. 
At  this  time  there  was  a  hired  man  dwelling  with 
them,  whose  work  it  was  to  drive  the  sheep  afield, 
either  up  on  to  the  eastern  bents  or  away  off 
down  to  the  water,  so  as  they  might  not  eat  the 
grass  of  the  kine  from  them.  But  Osberne,  both 
of  his  own  will  and  at  the  bidding  of  the  good- 
man,  went  off  to  field  with  this  man  John  and 
helped  him  to  keep  the  sheep  from  straying  over- 
far.  Now  one  day  at  evening,  somewhat  later 
than  he  was  wont,  when,  as  it  chanced,  Osberne 
had  not  fared  with  him,  back  comes  John  from  the 
bents,  and  he  looked  scared  and  pale,  and  he  tells 
the  tale  that  as  the  light  began  to  fail  up  there, 
three  huge  wolves  fell  upon  the  sheep,  and  slew 
sundry  of  them,  and  it  was  easy  to  be  seen  of  him 
that  he  had  held  no  very  close  battle  with  the 
wolves,  but  had  stood  aloof  till  they  had  done 
their  supper,  and  then  gathered  what  he  could  of 
the  sheep  without  going  over-near  the  field  of 
deed.  The  goodman  berated  him  for  his  cow- 
ardice, and  seemed  to  begrudge  him  his  victuals 
somewhat  that  night,  whereas,  what  with  them 
whom  the  wolves  had  slain,  and  them  who  had 


1 6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

perchance  fled  away,  the  flock  was  seventeen 
wethers  short.  John  excused  himself  what  he 
might,  and  said  that  he  had  no  weapon,  nought 
save  his  shepherd's  staff",  and  that  the  wolves  had 
slain  his  dog  in  the  first  stour:  but  while  he  spake, 
Osberne,  who  sat  by,  deemed  him  somewhat  stark 
and  tall  to  be  so  little-hearted. 

However,  the  next  day  the  goodman  and  John 
must  needs  go  up  to  the  bent  to  see  if  they  might 
find  aught  alive  of  the  sheep  that  were  missing, 
and  each  of  them  bore  a  shield  and  short  spear, 
that  they  might  make  head  against  the  wolves  if 
that  host  should  fall  on  them  in  the  middle  of  the 
day.  Meantime  Osberne,  by  the  goodman's  bid- 
ding, drives  the  flock  down  toward  the  water, 
nothing  loth,  for  ever  the  wondrous  stream  seemed 
to  draw  the  lad  to  it.  And  a  fair  day  he  had  of  it, 
wandering  amidst  the  sheep  and  being  friendly 
with  them,  whiles  drawing  out  his  knife  to  look 
thereon,  as  oft  he  did  when  he  was  alone;  and  for- 
sooth it  was  a  goodly  weapon,  carven  with  quaint- 
nesses  about  the  heft,  the  blade  inlaid  with  runes 
done  in  gold,  and  the  sheath  of  silver.  Whiles 
also  he  stood  on  the  river's  lip  and  looked  across 
the  water,  which  was  there  in  most  places  as  big 
as  the  Thames  is  at  Reading,  but  sometimes  nar- 
rower. But  there  was  nought  stirring  within  eye- 
shot on  the  further  bank  that  day,  save  the  fowl, 
and  a  bull  that  came  running  along  and  lowing  as 
he  went  on  some  errand,  whatever  it  might  be, 
for  he  was  not  followed  of  any  men.  So  he  came 
back  with  the  flock  before  dark,  all  safe  ;    neither 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  17 

had  he  gone  far  from  the  stead,  for  so  he  was 
bidden  of  his  grandsire, 

A  Httle  after  comes  in  the  goodman  with  John, 
neither  of  them  in  very  sweet  temper ;  they  had 
seen  nought  of  the  sheep  save  the  hides  and  bones 
of  a  half-score,  but  the  wolves  they  had  not  failed 
to  see ;  they  had  come  to  the  same  place  as  the 
last  night,  and  seemed  by  no  means  afraid  of  the 
man-host  with  its  spears  and  shields,  wherefore 
these  last  had  turned  their  backs  and  run  from 
them  stoutly,  and  now  sat  together  glowering  on 
each  other,  and  casting  now  and  again  a  gibe  each 
at  each.  But  they  were  at  one  in  this,  that  the 
wolves  were  huge  and  fierce  beyond  measure,  and 
such  as  any  man  might  fear.  But  at  last  John 
spake  and  said :  Well,  master,  it  is  as  they  say 
down  the  Dale,  that  this  is  no  lucky  house ;  me- 
seems  ye  are  beset  with  no  common  wolves,  but 
with  skinchangers  who  have  taken  the  shape  of 
wolves,  whether  they  be  Land-wights  or  Dwarfs, 
or  ride-a-nights  of  the  outlaws. 

At  that  word  waxed  the  master  wood-wrath, 
as  was  his  wont  if  any  spake  of  the  luck  of  Weth- 
ermel ;  and  he  forgot  his  fear  in  his  anger,  and 
said  :  Hearken  the  fool-talk  of  him  !  Thou  hadst 
not  the  heart  for  all  thine  inches  to  go  forward 
before  the  master,  and  a  man  on  the  downward 
side  of  years  ;  and  now  thou  must  needs  make  up 
fairy  tales  to  cover  thy  cowardice.  O !  said  John, 
grinning,  keep  thy  head,  master ;  for  sooth  it  is 
that  thou  wert  the  first  to  run,  and  wert  the  first 
through  the  door.    Thou  liest,  said  the  goodman ; 


1 8  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

but  this  I  tell  thee,  that  whosoever  was  afraid  then, 
thou  shalt  be  afraid  now.  And  he  rose  up  and 
smote  his  man  on  the  face  so  that  he  fell  to  the 
ground,  and  John  leapt  up  and  would  have  smit- 
ten his  master  again  ;  but  even  therewith  comes  in 
the  goodwife,  and  Bridget  with  her,  bearing  in  the 
supper  smoking  hot,  and  something  seemed  to 
hold  John  back  from  his  blow,  and  he  sat  down, 
surly  enough  but  silent.  Then  said  the  goodwife  : 
What  is  to  do  here  ?  Hast  thou  run  against  the 
settle-end,  John,  that  thy  cheek  is  red  and  blue  ? 
Laughed  the  youngling  thereat,  and  a  word  came 
into  his  mouth,  and  he  sang : 

All  grey  on  the  bent 
There  the  sheep-greedy  went: 
The  big  spear  and  shield 
Met  the  foes  of  the  field. 
But  nought  the  white  teeth 
In  the  warriors  gat  sheath. 
For  master  and  man 
Full  meetly  they  ran. 
But  now  in  this  hall 
The  fear  off  doth  fall 
From  one  of  the  twain. 
And  his  hand  getteth  gain. 
But  the  other  sits  there. 
And  new  groweth  his  fear 
Both  of  man  and  of  grey. 
So  the  meat  on  board  lay. 
Thou  on  whom  gold  doth  ride. 
Meat-goddess  grey-eyed; 
Let  the  loaf- warden  eat. 
And  the  man  whom  he  beat. 
And  the  lad  that  doth  lie 
In  wall-nook  hereby. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  19 

And  thou  Gold-tree  the  fair. 
And  the  milk-mother  dear. 
Lest  the  meat  wax  a-cold 
Both  for  bold  and  unbold. 

Hereat  all  laughed,  but  the  two  men  somewhat 
from  one  side  of  their  mouths.  And  the  good- 
man  said  :  See  thou  to  it,  kinsman,  lest  stripes  be 
thy  song- pay.  But  Osberne  laughed  from  a  fair 
and  merry  face  and  sang  again  : 

O  lord  of  the  land. 
To  the  staff  lay  no  hand 
Till  the  grey  ones  thou  face 
In  the  wind-weary  place. 

And  therewith  he  fell  to  his  meat  and  ate  stoutly, 
and  to  the  women  it  seemed  that  their  little  kins- 
man had  the  making  of  a  champion  in  him,  and 
his  staves  they  loved  dearly  in  their  hearts,  and 
they  smiled  upon  him  kindly  ;  and  he  looked  from 
one  to  the  other,  and  quoth  he : 

Three  mothers  had  I, 
And  one  is  gone  by. 
But  two  are  left  here. 
Leal,  buxom,  and  dear. 

As  for  the  goodman,  now  the  meat  was  getting  into 
him  the  wrath  was  running  off,  and  he  thought 
within  himself  that  presently  he  should  have  great 
avail  of  his  grandson. 


CHAPTER    IV.      SURLY  JOHN    FALLS 
OUT   WITH    THE   GOODMAN. 

ON  the  morrow  comes  John  to  the  goodman, 
and  quoth  he :  Master,  there  is  small 
doubt  that  I  shall  one  day  pay  thee  for 
the  pudding  in  the  pot  which  thou  gavest  me  yes- 
treen, and  after  that  I  shall  have  to  take  my  soles 
out  of  this  straightway ;  so  meseemeth  I  had  best 
go  hence  to-day.  Well,  said  the  goodman,  if  thou 
must  go,  go,  and  the  devil  go  with  thee.  But  as 
to  the  knock  on  thy  cheekbone,  I  will  boot  thee 
therefor,  if  thou  wilt  take  boot  and  abide,  for 
though  thou  be  no  hard  worker,  nor  very  deft  of 
thy  hands,  yet  the  winter  is  lonely  here,  and  thou 
wilt  be  missed  somewhat. 

Quoth  John  :  Yea,  goodman,  but  there  is  this 
in  it  withal,  that  Wethermel  liketh  me  not,  though 
I  say  nought  against  thee  for  a  master.  I  love 
not  thy  were-wolves,  that  are  big  and  gruesome 
enough  to  frighten  two  stout  armed  men  ;  and  I 
love  not  thy  Dwarfs,  who  cut  off  their  own  heads 
and  stick  them  on  again,  and  give  guesting  to  little 
lads,  doing  them  no  hurt ;  for  meseems  that  means 
that  the  said  Dwarf  will  be  craving  guest-quarters 
here  one  day,  and  who  knows  how  soon  ;  and  I 
care  not  for  such  an  one  as  a  fellow  at  board. 
And  then  there  is  thy  grandson,  and  a  fair  boy  he 
is  and  a  good  scald,  though  that  be  come  upon 
him  somewhat  suddenly.  But  he  is  over  big- 
v'ordy  for  me,  and  I  see  clearly  that  soon  there 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  21 

shall  be  two  masters  in  this  house,  and  one  is  well 
enough  for  me.  And  lastly  as  to  thy  kinswomen  ; 
I  wot  well  I  shall  have  no  good  word  from  them 
year  in  year  out.  So  take  this  for  my  last  word, 
that  I  shall  turn  my  back  upon  thee  so  soon  as 
thou  hast  paid  me  my  hire,  and  shall  go  seek 
quarters  down  the  Dale,  at  some  merrier  stead 
than  this. 

The  goodman  looked  on  him  sourly,  and  then 
turned  about  and  took  a  bag  from  the  chest,  and 
drew  silver  from  it,  and  told  over  certain  pieces 
and  laid  them  before  John,  who  is  henceforth  called 
Surly  John,  and  said:  Here  is  thine  hire  in  good 
silver.  And  now  I  shall  not  say  one  more  word 
to  thee  for  good  or  bad,  save  this,  that  thou  hadst 
best  look  to  it  that  thy  silver  melt  not  before 
many  months  are  over.  Take  thy  soles  out  of 
this  straightway.  So  John  took  up  his  silver,  and 
stowed  it  in  his  pouch,  and  then  he  said  :  Well, 
goodman,  now  that  I  am  paid  I  think  that  I  had 
best  pay  thee  for  the  cheek-knock  of  last  night. 
He  was  a  tall  man  and  strong  of  thirty  winters, 
and  the  goodman  somewhat  on  in  years  and  not 
over-strong,  wherefore  the  battle  seemed  like  to 
go  all  one  way.  But  lo,  as  he  rushed  on  the  good- 
man,  of  a  sudden  he  felt  his  feet  pulled  away  from 
under  him,  and  fell  noseling  to  the  ground ;  and 
when  he  would  rise,  lo  there  was  on  one  side  of 
him  the  goodman  with  a  cudgel  in  his  hand,  and 
Osberne  on  the  other,  with  his  whittle  drawn  ;  and 
the  lad  laughed  and  said  :  Thou  hast  been  a  long 
while  and  used  many  words  about  going,  so  be- 


22  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

like  thou  wert  best  tarry  no  longer ;  or  wert  thou 
thinking  thou  wouldst  go  to  bed  ?  Nay,  thou 
hast  talked  long,  but  nought  so  long  that  it  is 
night  yet. 

So  therewith  Surly  John  arose  and  shook  the 
dust  of  the  floor  off  him,  shouldered  his  bag,  which 
he  had  ready  by,  and  went  out-of-doors  and  down 
the  Dale  afoot,  for  he  was  too  shamefaced  to  crave 
the  loan  of  a  horse,  to  which  forsooth  the  kins- 
men would  have  made  him  welcome. 

So  the  day  wore  amidst  divers  matters,  and  the 
sheep  pastured  anigh  to  the  Mel ;  but  ever  the 
goodman  said  that,  wolves  or  no  wolves,  he  must 
drive  them  up  the  bent  next  day.  But  he  said 
this  so  often,  that  it  seemed  as  if  he  were  not  over- 
willing  thereto  ;  and  in  the  evening  he  took  forth 
an  old  sword  which  he  had,  a  good  one,  and  sat 
whetting    it   with   a   hone.     So  they  fared  to  bed. 

But  in  the  morning  ere  it  was  light  the  good- 
man  deemed  he  heard  goings-on  in  the  house, 
and  he  sat  up  and  hearkened.  Next  then  he 
heard  a  hand  amongst  the  three  shields  which 
hung  on  the  panel  the  other  side  of  his  shut-bed, 
and  thereafter  he  heard  one  going  to  the  door ;  and 
he  smiled  thereat  and  lay  down  again,  and  pres- 
ently there  came  the  sound  of  the  bleating  of  many 
sheep.  So  the  carle  stands  up  therewith,  and  does 
on  bis  raiment,  and  takes  his  spear  and  shield,  and 
girds  his  sword  to  him,  and  goeth  forth  and  out  of 
the  garth,  and  turns  his  face  up  toward  the  bent, 
but  goes  very  slow ;  and  day  was  now  just  begin- 
ning to  dawn  though  the   stars  yet  shone ;  clear 


THE    SUNDERING    FLOOD  23 

was  the  morning.  Now  in  the  grey  light  the  carle 
could  just  see  what  he  looked  to  see,  to  wit,  the 
whole  flock  going  together  toward  the  bent,  and  a 
little  figure  of  a  son  of  Adam  going  after  them, 
on  whom  a  red  scarlet  hue  was  even  dimly  to  be 
seen. 

The  carle  smiled,  and  said  to  himself:  For- 
sooth, yonder  ruffler  must  needs  clothe  him  in  holi- 
day raiment  to  do  his  doughty  deed  !  Now  v/ill  I 
not  follow  him  to  mar  his  championship,  but  will 
leave  him  alone  to  his  luck,  which  I  see  to  be  great. 
So  he  abode  a  little  in  an  ingle  of  the  garth  wall, 
while  the  sheep  lessened  but  grew  clearer  before 
him,  and  the  scarlet  raiment  of  his  grandson  grew 
brighter  ;  and  then  he  went  swiftly,  skirting  the 
knoll  till  he  had  it  betwixt  him  and  the  stead,  and 
thereafter  he  went  more  leisurely  toward  the  north ; 
and  he  said  to  himself:  The  lad  will  do  well 
enough  ;  and  as  to  the  women,  they  will  make  the 
less  outcry,  that  when  they  find  me  and  my  weap- 
ons gone  they  will  think  I  have  fared  with  him  up 
the  bent.  So  therewith  he  betook  himself  well 
out  of  the  way,  keeping  near  to  the  bank  of  the 
river. 


CHAPTER  V.     OSBERNE    SLAYS   THE 
WOLVES. 

AS  to  Osberne,  I  will  say  nought  of  him  till 
he  comes  back  in  the  even,  driving  all  his 
sheep  before  him,  not  one  lacking,  and 
two  of  the  lost  ones  found.  He  bears  with  him 
shield  and  spear,  and  has  the  Dwarf-wrought 
whittle  in  his  girdle.  Over  his  shoulder  to  boot 
he  bears  a  biggish  bag,  well-nigh  big  enough  for 
so  little  a  carle  ;  of  white  linen  it  is,  it  hath  some- 
thing heavy  in  it,  and  is  much  stained  with  blood. 
So  he  folds  the  sheep  straightway,  and  then  comes 
into  the  hall,  he  and  his  bag,  and  throws  the  same 
into  the  ingle  of  the  hearth  fire.  Then  he  casts  a 
sack  over  his  shoulders  and  sits  before  the  bag,  so 
that  it  may  not  be  lightly  seen.  By  this  time  it 
was  dusking  outside,  and  inside  the  hall  it  was 
pretty  much  dark  save  for  the  fire,  where  little 
flames  leapt  up  now  and  again  as  some  piece  of 
the  firing  tumbled  over.  In  the  hall  was  no  one, 
for  the  women  were  bringing  in  the  kine,  and  the 
goodman  was  not  yet  come  in  from  the  field. 

There  he  sits  quietly,  stirring  little.  And  the 
next  tidings  is,  the  goodman  comes  home  alone  ; 
he  hears  the  sheep  a-bleating,  and  goes  glad  at 
heart  to  the  fold  ;  and  there  is  his  joy  eked,  for  by 
the  light  of  the  moon,  which  is  now  rising,  he  can 
see  well  enough  to  tell  over  the  sheep,  and  finds 
two   more  than  there  were  yesterday.      So  he  goes 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  25 

Speedily  toward  the  hall,  and  the  women  now  come 
up  after  him,  having  gotten  the  kine  into  the 
byre  ;  so  they  all  three  go  into  the  hall  together. 
Then  cries  out  the  goodman  :  Is  there  aught  in 
the  hall  now  ?  Osberne  answers  from  where  he 
sat :  There  is  but  little,  for  I  am  little.  Then  they 
turn  and  see  him  hugging  himself  up  in  the  sack, 
and  something  at  his  back,  they  cannot  see  what ; 
and  the  goodman  says :  What  hast  thou  been 
about  all  day,  kinsman  ?  Thou  art  forever  fool- 
hardy and  a  truant ;  of  right,  stripes  should  pay 
thee  for  thy  straying.  Said  Osberne  :  I  have  been 
shepherding  sheep ;  may  it  not  buy  me  off"  the 
stripes  that  I  have  found  two  of  the  lost  ones,  and 
brought  back  all  safe?  Maybe,  says  the  master; 
but  did  aught  else  befall  thee  ?  Says  the  lad  :  Will 
it  not  buy  me  off  beating  that  I  have  also  brought 
home  catch  ?  Yea,  if  the  catch  be  good,  says  the 
goodman.  It  is  but  a  leash  of  snipes,  which  I 
got  me  in  a  corner  of  the  bog  up  yonder,  says  Os- 
berne. Snipes!  says  Bridget;  deft  art  thou,  fos- 
terling, to  take  them  without  either  springe  or 
stone-bow,  and  they  all  flittering  like  butterflies  on 
a  March  day.  Yea,  auntie,  saith  he,  but  a  stone 
or  two  might  avail  without  the  bow,  were  one  deft 
enough.  Yet  with  no  such  weapons  did  I  slay 
them  ;  ask  me  what  weapons  I  bore  against  them. 
Therewith  he  stirs  and  shakes  himself,  and  ofl^ 
tumbles  the  sack  from  his  shoulders,  and  there- 
with his  grandame  lights  up  the  candles,  and  they 
all  see  the  scarlet  and  gold  of  his  holiday  raiment; 
and  Bridget  says :   This  also  will  I  ask  thee,  fos- 


26  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

terling,  do  men  go  out  to  take  snipes  in  their 
holiday  raiment?  I  will  tell  thee,  says  the  little 
lad  :  the  weapons  I  bore  against  the  catch  were  the 
shield  to  ward,  and  the  spear  to  thrust,  and  the 
knife  for  the  shearing  of  the  heads  :  and  I  tell  thee 
that  when  men  go  to  battle  they  used  to  wend  in 
their  fair-dyed  raiment.  Then  he  stood  up  in  the 
hall,  the  little  one,  but  trim  and  goodly,  with 
gleaming  eyes  and  bright  hair,  and  a  word  came 
into  his  mouth : 

On  the  wind- weary  bent 

The  grey  ones  they  went. 

Growled  the  greedy  and  glared 

On  the  sheep-kin  afeared  ; 

Low  looked  the  bright  sun 

On  the  battle  begun. 

For  they  saw  how  the  swain 

Stood  betwixt  them  and  gain. 

'Twas  the  spear  in  the  belly,  the  spear  in  the  mouth, 

And  a  warp  of  the  shield  from  the  north  to  the  south ; 

The  spear  in  the  throat,  and  the  eyes  of  the  sun 

Scarce  shut  as  the  last  of  the  battle  was  done. 

Well  sung,  kinsman  !  said  the  goodman :  now 
shalt  thou  show  us  the  snipes.  But  ere  the  lad 
might  stoop  to  his  bag  the  two  women  were  upon 
him,  clipping  and  kissing  him  as  if  they  would 
never  have  enough  thereof.  He  made  a  shift  to 
thrust  them  off  at  last,  and  stooping  to  his  bag  he 
drew  out  something  and  cast  it  on  the  board,  and 
lo  the  sheared-off  head  of  a  great  grey  wolf  with 
gaping  jaws  and  glistening  white  fangs,  and  the 
women  shrank  before  it.  But  Osberne  said :  Lo 
the  first  of  the  catch,  and  here  is  the  second.     And 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  27 

again  he  drew  out  a  head  from  the  bag  and  cast  it 
on  the  board  ;  and  so  with  the  third  in  due  course. 
Now,  said  he,  the  bag  is  empty,  and  deemest  thou, 
grandsire,  that  I  have  bought  me  off  my  beating  ? 
And  thou,  grandame,  I  pray  thee,  give  me  my 
meat,  for  I  am  anhungered.  So  now  they  had 
nought  but  praises  and  caresses  for  him,  and  they 
made  as  it  were  a  new  feast  of  that  November 
day,  and  were  as  merry  as  if  they  were  feasting  the 
best  days  of  Yule. 


CHAPTER  VI.    THEY  FARE  TO  THE 
CLOVEN    MOTE. 

AND  now  the  days  wore  away  to  winter,  and 
ever  thereafter  might  Osberne  do  what  he 
would,  and  go  where  he  would,  for  as  little 
a  lad  as  he  was ;  but  he  worked  with  a  good  will 
if  he  were  uncompelled,  and  if  he  were  suffered  to 
wander  at  whiles  as  his  will  drave  him.  Forsooth, 
since  he  had  no  fellows  of  a  like  age  to  him,  it  was 
whiles  that  he  found  the  open  field  or  the  waste 
gave  him  better  fellowship  than  the  older  folk,  yea 
even  than  the  women. 

Winter  came,  and  the  snow  and  the  frost,  which 
was  not  very  hard  in  that  land,  as  many  would 
have  been  glad  if  it  were,  for  then  might  the  Sun- 
dering Flood  have  been  laid  with  ice,  which  never 
betid.  On  the  morning  of  Yule  day,  Osberne  and 
his  grandsire  and  grandame  got  under  way  long 
before  daylight,  that  they  might  go  to  the  Cloven 
Mote,  and  hear  the  Christmass  in  the  church  of 
Allhallows,  which  had  been  builded  on  the  east 
side  of  the  water  to  be  the  church  of  the  Mote ; 
but  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  was  another 
church  like  to  it  in  all  ways,  and  under  the  same 
invocation,  for  the  Western  folk.  This  was  the 
first  time  that  Osberne  had  been  down  to  the  Mote, 
and  withal  both  the  women  were  wont  to  stay  at 
home  :  but  this  time  nought  would  serve  the  good- 
wife  but  she  must  wend  with  her  man,  that  she 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  29 

might  show  her  darling  and  her  champion  to  the 
neighbours.  It  was  a  matter  of  seven  miles  down 
the  water  to  the  Mote-stead,  and  they  went  aslant 
over  the  snow-covered  fields,  and  hit  the  river-bank 
about  half  way,  and  went  thence  along  the  very 
lip  of  the  water.  And  by  then  it  was  pretty  much 
daylight;  and  Osberne  looked  over  the  water  and 
saw  about  half-a-mile  off,  for  the  day  was  clear,  two 
little  knolls  rising  from  the  field,  and  betwixt  them 
and  about  them  a  show  of  small  wood ;  and  he 
asked  his  grandsire  what  that  might  be,  for  hitherto 
he  had  never  been  so  far  down  the  water  ;  whereas 
before  he  slew  the  wolves,  down  the  water  was 
banned  to  him,  and  after  that  he  had  been  busy 
about  the  houses  and  folds,  or  driving  the  sheep 
to  the  bents  day  by  day.  So  his  grandsire  an- 
swered him  :  That  is  hight  Hart  Shaw,  and  we 
are  told  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  shaw  and  the 
knolls  looking  west  is  a  stead  with  houses  inhab- 
ited, and  the  whole  place  is  hight  Hart  Shaw 
Knolls.  Said  Osberne  :  I  would  we  were  there 
awhile,  for  as  I  look  at  the  stead  it  seemeth  friendly 
to  me,  and  I  fare  to  feel  that  the  folk  thereof  shall 
come  into  my  life  some  day.  Answered  the  good- 
man  :  We  hear  that  little  dwelleth  there  save  a 
widow  woman  and  her  one  child,  a  little  maiden. 
And  as  to  thy  one  day,  it  shall  be  a  long  while 
coming ;  for  long  and  long  shall  it  be  for  any  one 
to  encompass  the  Sundering  Flood,  save  the 
Winter  of  Fear  come  upon  us,  and  all  the  land  be 
overlaid  with  ice,  and  the  waters  of  the  Flood  be 
stayed ;  which  may  God  and  Allhallows  forfend. 


30  THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD 

The  lad  said  nought  for  a  while  ;  and  then  he  said : 
Goodman,  I  would  we  had  gone  down  to  river- 
bank  from  out  our  own  door,  and  gone  all  along 
the  Flood-side  to  the  Mote ;  for  it  were  pleasant 
to  have  looked  across  the  Flood,  thinking  of  all 
there  is  on  the  other  side,  and  wondering  if  we 
shall  ever  get  there.  Why  did  we  not  this,  for 
on  the  very  bank  the  going  is  better?  Said  the 
carle :  We  have  come  the  shortest  way  this  bitter 
winter  morning  ;  that  is  all.  Herein  he  lied  ;  for 
they  had  gone  that  slant  way  to  give  the  go-by  to 
a  certain  place  of  the  Flood-bank  which  the  Dale- 
dwellers  deemed  perilous ;  but  thereof  he  would 
not  tell  the  little  carle,  now  that  he  was  become 
so  masterful,  deeming  that  if  he  heard  of  any  peril 
toward  he  would  be  all  agog  to  try  the  adventure 
thereof,  as  forsooth  was  true.  Of  this  place,  which 
lay  now  but  just  behind  them,  shall  more  be  told 
hereafter. 

Now  they  come  to  the  Mote  in  good  time  when 
the  sun  was  but  just  arisen,  and  there  was  already 
a  throng ;  and  at  their  coming  the  folk  on  the 
western  side  raised  a  shout,  as  the  folk  on  either 
side  were  wont  to  welcome  newcomers ;  but  the 
very  first  man  they  hit  upon  was  Surly  John ; 
and  the  goodwife,  a  soft,  kind  woman,  hailed  him 
friendly,  and  was  fain  to  have  some  one  whom 
she  knew  unto  whom  to  tell  her  tale  of  the  cham- 
pion and  the  wolves.  For  indeed  it  needs  must 
out  to  the  very  first  comer,  and  out  it  came 
now,  many  worded,  and  folk,  both  men  and  wo- 
men, gathered  about  the  twain  to  hearken ;   for 


THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD  31 

the  goodwife  told  it  all  well  and  without  hitch. 
Surly  John  must  needs  abide  the  telling  of  it,  but 
when  it  was  done  he  said  :  Well,  dame,  so  it  is 
that  I  always  deemed  the  lad  kenspeckle ;  and  it 
has  moreover  turned  out  as  I  warned  you,  that 
you  have  got  a  new  master  over  you.  And  there- 
with he  turned  away ;  but  of  those  others  who 
heard  the  tale  there  were  more  than  one  or  two 
who  praised  it  much,  and  deemed  it  marvellous 
as  might  well  be  that  a  child  should  have  faced 
and  slain  those  three  monsters  who  had  put  two 
stout  men  to  flight.  And  one  man  made  up  this 
stave,  which  was  presently  sung  all  about  the 
Eastern  Mote,  and  went  over  the  water  with  the 
tale  to  the  Western  one  : 

To  run  and  to  fight 

Are  deeds  free  to  the  wight. 

And  John  tried  in  batdc 

Had  heard  the  boards  rattle. 

But  needed  to  prove 

The  race  back  to  the  stove ; 

So  his  wightness  he  showed 

In  way-wearing  the  road. 

While  Osberne,  who  knew 

How  the  foot-race  to  do. 

Must  try  the  new  game 

Where  the  battle-beasts  came. 

Bairn  for  fight,  but  for  running  the  strong  man  and  tall. 

And  all  folk  for  the  laughter  when  both  are  in  hall. 

When  Surly  John  heard  this  stave  he  cursed  be- 
tween his  teeth,  but  said  nought. 

But  now  on  either  side  the  churches  fell  to  ring- 
ing to  mass,  and  all  folk  fared  to  service.     And 


32  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Osberne  sat  in  a  good  place  amongst  the  carles, 
and  forsooth  he  had  both  ears  and  eyes  open  both 
then  and  all  day.  Mass  over,  the  cooking-fires 
were  lighted  and  tents  were  pitched  on  either  side 
the  water,  and  in  a  while  they  went  to  dinner  ; 
and  thereafter,  when  they  had  sung  awhile,  came 
the  time  of  drinking,  and  folk  were  paired,  men 
and  women  so  far  as  might  be,  for  more  men  there 
were  than  women  ;  but  whereas  all  men  save  Surly 
John  were  well  with  Osberne,  there  was  gotten  for 
his  mate  a  fair  young  damsel  of  but  seventeen 
winters,  and  Osberne,  who  had  looked  hard  on  all 
the  women  who  were  well-liking,  for  he  had  seen 
but  very  seldom  any  women  save  those  two  of  his 
kinsfolk,  was  amazed  with  joy  when  the  dear  maid 
pulled  down  her  hood  and  pulled  off  her  gloves. 
And  whereas  she  was  shy  of  him  because  of  his 
doughtiness,  for  all  that  he  was  but  a  child,  it  was 
not  until  they  had  drunk  a  cup  or  two  that  he 
took  heart  to  set  his  hand  to  her  neck  and  kiss 
her  cheeks  and  her  mouth,  whereat  she  blushed 
rosy  red,  and  all  they  that  were  in  the  tent  laughed 
and  cheered.  But  thereafter  they  fell  to  sweet 
speech  and  talked  much,  and  he  held  her  hand 
when  the  end  of  the  feast  was  done ;  which  was 
after  this  wise,  that  folk  stood  on  the  very  lip  of 
the  river  in  one  long  row  hand  in  hand,  and  the 
loving-cup  went  down  each  row,  and  they  cried 
healths  to  each  other,  and  then  lifted  up  their 
voices  and  shouted  all  together,  and  so  undid  the 
Mote  and  parted.  And  this  time,  and  it  was  dark 
save  for  the  fires  flaring  behind  them,  it  was  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  23 

maid  that  kissed  Osberne;  neither  needed  she,  a 
tall  damsel  though  she  was,  to  stoop  much  thereto, 
for  right  big  and  tall  he  was  of  his  years.  So  then 
all  went  back  each  to  his  own  home.  And  the 
winter  wore  away  at  Wethermel  with  nought  to 
tell  of. 


CHAPTER    VII.      OF    A    NEWCOMER, 
AND    HIS   GIFT   TO    OSBERNE. 

NOW  when  spring  came  again,  needs  must 
Osberne  drive  the  sheep  up  to  the  bents, 
though  he  had  liefer  haunted  the  river- 
side, for  sore  he  desired  to  cross  the  flood  and  find 
out  tidings  there.  And  though  he  were  a  child, 
yet  he  would  by  his  own  choice  have  fared  to 
seek  out  the  pretty  maiden  whose  hand  he  had 
held  on  the  edge  of  the  river  that  even,  but  live- 
lihood drave  him  to  look  to  the  sheep  now  that 
the  spring  grass  was  growing. 

So  on  a  certain  day  when  March  was  wearing 
towards  April  he  drave  his  sheep  up  over  the 
crown  of  the  bent ;  and  there  he  went  with  them  a 
way  where,  the  land  still  rising,  the  ground  was 
hard  and  rocky  but  clean,  and  the  grass  sweet  for 
as  scanty  as  it  was,  growing  in  little  hollows  and 
shelters  round  about  the  rocks.  Wherefore  the 
sheep  were  nimble  in  their  feeding,  and  led  him 
on  long,  till  they  and  he  were  come  into  a  grassy 
little  dale  with  a  stream  running  through  it.  There 
they  were  neither  to  hold  nor  to  bind,  but  strayed 
all  up  and  down  the  dale  and  over  the  crest 
of  the  bent  thereof,  and  would  not  come  to  his 
call;  and  his  dog  was  young  and  not  very  wise, 
and  could  do  little  to  help  him  :  so  he  began  to 
think  he  had  best  gather  what  of  the  sheep  he 
could,  and  drive  them  home  and  fold  them,  and 
then   come  back  and  hunt  for  the  rest,  perhaps 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 


35 


with  the  help  of  his  grandsire  ;  but  as  the  ones  he 
could  get  at  were  all  close  anigh,  and  he  was  hot 
and  weary  with  running  hither  and  thither  and 
holloaing  to  sheep  and  dog,  he  would  go  down  to 
the  stream  and  drink  and  rest  awhile  first.  And 
even  so  he  did,  and  lay  down  by  the  water  and 
drank,  a  long  draught ;  but  while  he  was  about  it 
he  thought  he  heard  footsteps  coming  down  the 
hill-side  over  the  greensward.  Howsoever,  he  had 
his  drink  out,  and  then  rose  to  his  knees  and  looked 
up,  and  therewith  sprang  hastily  to  his  feet,  for  a 
tall  man  was  coming  on  towards  him  not  ten  yards 
from  the  stream,  on  the  further  side  of  it.  He 
was  not  to  say  afeard  by  the  sight,  yet  some- 
what startled,  for  the  man  was  not  his  grandsire, 
nor  forsooth  did  he  seem  to  be  one  of  the  Dale- 
dwellers.  For  he  was  so  clad  that  he  had  a  grey 
hauberk  on  him  of  fine  ring-mail,  and  a  scarlet 
coat  thereunder  embroidered  goodly  ;  a  big  gold 
ring  was  on  his  left  arm,  a  bright  basnet  on  his 
head ;  he  was  girt  with  a  sword,  and  bare  a  bow 
in  his  hand,  and  a  quiver  hung  at  his  back.  He 
was  a  goodly  man,  young  by  seeming,  bright-faced 
and  grey-eyed  ;  his  hair  was  yellow  and  as  fine  as 
silk,  and  it  hung  down  over  his  shoulders. 

Now  Osberne  put  as  good  a  face  on  the  meet- 
ing as  he  might,  and  gave  the  newcomer  the  sele 
of  the  day,  and  he  hailed  him  again  in  a  clear 
loud  voice,  and  they  stood  looking  on  each  other 
across  the  stream  awhile.  Then  the  newcomer 
laughed  pleasantly  and  said  :  Hast  thou  any 
name  that  I  may  call  thee  by  ?     I  am  Osberne  of 


^6  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

Wethermel,  said  the  youngling.  Aha,  said  the 
man,  art  thou  he  that  slew  the  leash  of  great  grey 
wolves  last  autumn,  who  had  put  two  armed  men 
to  flight  the  day  before  ?  Said  Osberne,  redden- 
ing :  Well,  what  was  I  to  do  ?  There  fell  a  leash 
of  hill-dogs  on  our  sheep,  and  I  made  them  for- 
bear. Was  it  a  scathe  to  thee,  lord  ?  The  new- 
comer laughed  again  :  Nay,  my  lad,  said  he,  I  love 
them  no  more  than  ye  do  ;  they  were  no  dogs  of 
mine.  But  what  doest  thou  here  ?  Thou  seest, 
said  the  youngling,  that  I  am  shepherding  our 
sheep;  and  a  many  have  run  from  me,  and  I  cannot 
bring  them  back  to  me.  So  I  was  going  home 
with  those  that  be  left.  Well,  says  the  man,  we 
can  soon  mend  that.  Rest  thou  here  and  abide  my 
coming  back  again,  and  I  will  fetch  them  for  thee. 
With  a  good  will,  says  Osberne,  and  I  shall  can 
thee  many  thanks  therefor. 

So  the  man  strode  on  and  through  the  stream, 
and  went  his  ways  up  the  further  bent,  and  Os- 
berne sat  down  on  a  stone  and  abode  him  in  no 
little  wonder.  The  man  was  gone  somewhat  more 
than  an  hour,  and  then  Osberne  sees  the  sheep 
topping  the  crest  of  the  bent  and  pouring  down 
into  the  dale,  and  the  newcomer  came  next  driving 
them  down  ;  and  when  they  came  to  the  stream 
they  stood  there  and  moved  no  more  than  if  they 
were  penned. 

Then  the  newcomer  came  through  them  up  to 
Osberne,  and  said  in  a  kind  voice,  though  it  was 
loud :  What,  art  thou  here  vet  ?  I  deemed  that 
thou  wouldst  have   run   home.     Why   should  I 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  37 

have  run  ?  said  the  lad.  For  fear  of  me,  said  the 
other.  Said  Osberne :  I  was  somewhat  afeard 
when  I  first  saw  thee,  and  thou  with  the  grey 
byrny  and  the  gleaming  helm  ;  but  then  I  saw  that 
thou  wert  no  ill  man,  and  I  feared  thee  no  longer. 
Withal  I  was  fain  to  see  thee  again  ;  for  thou  art 
goodly  and  fair  to  behold,  and  I  am  fain  to  remem- 
ber thee.  Said  the  man  :  Even  so  have  others 
said  ere  now.  Were  they  women  ?  said  Osberne. 
Thou  art  brisk  and  keen,  youngling,  said  the  man. 
Yes,  they  were  women  :  but  it  was  long  ago.  Yet 
thou  lookest  no  old  man,  said  Osberne.  I  have 
seen  old  men  ;  they  be  nought  like  to  thee.  Heed 
thou  not  that,  said  the  helmed  man  :  but  tell  me, 
how  old  a  man  art  thou  ?  Said  Osberne :  When 
this  April  is  three  days  old  I  shall  be  thirteen 
years  old.  Said  the  man  of  the  waste  :  Well,  thou 
art  stalwart  for  thy  years,  and  that  liketh  me  well, 
and  meseems  that  we  shall  be  friends  hereafter : 
and  when  thou  art  a  grown  man  I  shall  seem  no 
older  to  thee ;  nay,  we  shall  be  as  brothers.  Be- 
like I  shall  see  thee  again  before  long ;  mean- 
while, I  give  thee  this  rede :  when  thou  mayest 
seek  thou  to  the  side  of  the  Sundering  Flood,  for 
meseemeth  that  there  lieth  thy  weird.  Now  there 
is  this  last  word  to  be  said,  that  I  came  hither  to- 
day to  see  thee,  and  in  token  thereof  I  have  brought 
thee  a  gift.  Canst  thou  shoot  in  the  bow  aught  ? 
Said  Osberne :  There  is  one  at  home,  and  my 
grandsire  hath  bent  it  for  me  at  whiles,  and  taught 
me  how  to  shoot  somewhat;  but  I  am  little  deft 
therein. 


38  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Then  the  man  betook  him  the  bow  which  he 
had  in  his  hand  and  said :  Here  is  one  that  shall 
make  thee  deft ;  for  whoso  hath  this  as  a  gift  from 
me  shall  hit  what  he  shooteth  at  if  he  use  my  shafts 
withal,  and  here  be  three  which  I  will  give  thee ; 
and  if  thou  take  heed,  thou  shalt  not  find  them 
easy  to  lose,  since  ever  they  shall  go  home.  But 
if  ever  thou  lose  two  of  them,  then  take  the  third 
and  go  into  some  waste  place  where  there  is  neither 
meadow  nor  acre,  and  turn  to  the  north-east  and 
shoot  upwards  toward  the  heavens,  and  say  this 
rhyme : 

A  shaft  to  the  north. 
Come,  ye  three,  come  ye  forth ; 
A  shaft  to  the  east. 
Come  three  at  the  least ; 
A  shaft  to  the  sky. 
Come  swift,  come  anigh! 
Come  one,  one  and  one. 
And  the  tale  is  all  done. 

And  then  shalt  thou  find  the  arrows  lying  at  thy 
feet.  Now  take  the  bow  and  arrows,  and  drive 
me  thy  sheep  betwixt  us  to  the  top  of  the  bent 
that  looks  down  on  Wethermel. 

Then  Osberne  took  the  bow  and  shafts,  and  he 
all  quivering  with  joy  and  delight ;  and  then  the 
two  of  them  together  went  back  across  the  waste 
with  the  sheep  before  them,  and  as  they  went 
side  by  side  the  man  said  many  things,  and  this 
at  last :  Now  that  I  know  thy  name,  it  is  like  that 
thou  wouldst  know  mine  and  who  I  am  ;  but  my 
very  name  I  may  not  tell  thee,  for  thy  tongue  has 
no  word  for  it,  but  now  and  when  we  meet  again 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  39 

thou  mayst  call  me  Steelhead  :  and  thou  shalt 
know  that  when  next  we  meet  I  shall  be  arrayed 
all  otherwise  than  now.  In  that  array  I  deem  thou 
wilt  know  me,  but  look  to  it  that  thou  show  no 
sign  thereof  before  other  men  ;  and  as  to  the  bow, 
thou  wilt  not  be  eager  belike  to  say  of  whom  thou 
hadst  it.  Lo  now  !  we  have  opened  up  Wether- 
mel ;  fare  thou  well,  bold  bairn,  and  forget  not 
my  redes.  And  therewith  he  turned  about  and 
gat  him  gone  into  the  waste  again,  striding  hugely  ; 
and  the  lad  was  sorry  to  lack  him,  for  he  deemed 
him  the  goodliest  and  best  man  that  he  had  ever 
met. 


CHAPTER  VIII.  THE  GOODMAN  GETS 
A  NEW  HIRED  MAN. 

NOW  when  he  came  home  to  Wethermel  he 
found  tidings  there,  for  the  goodman  had 
gotten  a  new  hired  man,  and  he  showed 
him  to  Osberne,  who  greeted  him  well :  he  was  a 
tall  man,  mild  of  aspect  and  speech,  flaxen-haired 
and  blue-eyed,  and  seemed  a  stark  carle.  He  had 
come  to  the  stead  that  morning  while  the  good- 
man  was  away,  and  had  craved  guesting  of  the 
women,  who  made  him  welcome  and  set  him  down 
to  meat.  He  told  them  that  his  name  was  Stephen, 
that  he  had  been  born  in  the  country-side,  but  had 
gone  thence  in  his  early  youth  to  East  Cheaping, 
which  was  the  market  town  whither  that  folk  had 
resort ;  and  that  he  had  grown  up  there  and  then 
wedded  a  wife ;  but  that  when  she  died  in  child- 
ing  with  her  first  bairn,  and  the  bairn  had  not 
lived,  he  loathed  the  place,  and  came  back  again 
into  the  Dale. 

So  when  the  goodman  came  home  this  Stephen 
offered  himself  to  him,  and  said  that  he  deemed 
he  could  do  as  good  a  stroke  of  work  as  another, 
and  that  he  was  not  for  any  great  wage,  but  he 
must  not  be  stinted  of  his  meat,  whereas  he  was 
a  heavy  feeder.  The  goodman  liked  the  looks 
of  him,  and  they  struck  the  bargain  betwixt  them 
straightway,  and  Stephen  had  hansel  of  a  second 
dinner,  and  ate  well  thereat ;  and  henceforth  is  he 
called  Stephen  the  Eater. 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  41 

Now  when  the  goodman  saw  Osberne  bring  in 
his  new  weapon,  he  asked  him  whence  he  had  it, 
and  the  lad  told  him  that  he  had  been  far  in  the 
waste,  and  had  found  it  there.  The  goodman 
eyed  him,  but  said  nought.  Forsooth  he  mis- 
doubted him  that  the  bow  was  somewhat  unked, 
and  that  the  lad  had  had  some  new  dealings  with 
the  Dwarf-kin  or  other  strange  wights.  But  then 
he  bethought  him  of  Osberne's  luck,  and  withal 
it  came  into  his  mind  that  now  he  had  gotten  this 
victual-waster  it  would  not  be  ill  if  his  lad  should 
shoot  them  some  venison  or  fowl  now  and  again ; 
and  by  the  look  of  the  bow  he  deemed  it  like  to 
be  a  lucky  one.  But  Stephen  reached  out  for  the 
bow,  and  handled  it  and  turned  it  about,  and 
spake :  This  is  a  handy  weapon,  and  they  who 
made  it  were  not  without  craft,  and  it  pleases  me 
to  see  it ;  for  now  when  it  brings  home  prey  in 
the  evening,  the  goodman  will  deem  my  maw  the 
less  burdensome  to  him.  By  my  rede,  goodman, 
ye  will  do  well  to  make  thy  youngling  the  hunter 
to  us  all,  for  such  bows  as  this  may  be  shot  in  only 
by  them  that  be  fated  thereto.  And  he  nodded 
and  smiled  on  Osberne,  and  the  lad  deemed  that 
the  new  man  would  be  friendly  to  him.  So  then 
was  supper  brought  in,  and  Stephen  the  Eater 
played  as  good  a  part  as  if  he  had  eaten  nought 
since  sunrise. 

But  the  next  day,  when  Stephen  was  bound  for 
driving  the  sheep  to  the  bent,  he  said  to  Osberne: 
Come  thou  with  me,  young  master,  to  show  me 
the  way ;  and  bring  thy  bow  and  arrows  withal, 


42  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

and  see  if  thou  canst  shoot  us  something  tooth- 
some, for  both  of  feathers  and  fur  there  is  foison 
on  the  hill-side.  So  they  went  together,  and  be- 
twixt whiles  of  the  shepherding  Osberne  shot  a 
whole  string  of  heath-fowl  and  whimbrel ;  and 
ever  he  hit  that  which  he  shot  at,  so  that  the  ar- 
rows were  easy  indeed  to  find,  since  they  never 
failed  to  be  in  the  quarry. 

The  goodman  was  well  pleased  with  his  catch, 
and  Stephen  licked  his  lips  over  the  look  of  the 
larder.  And  the  next  day  the  lad  let  Stephen  go 
alone  to  the  hill,  and  he  himself  took  a  horse  and 
went  up  the  water  a  ten  mile  toward  the  moun- 
tain, and  there  he  slew  a  hart  of  ten  tines  with  one 
arrow,  and  brought  the  quarry  home  across  the 
horse,  to  the  joy  of  all  the  household,  and  the 
goodman  was  not  rueing  his  bargain  with  Stephen 
the  Eater.  So  it  went  on  that  every  two  or  three 
days  Osberne  fared  afield  after  catch,  and  but  sel- 
dom came  home  empty-handed,  and  the  other 
days  he  did  as  he  would  and  went  where  he  listed. 
And  now  he  began  to  follow  the  rede  of  Steelhead, 
and  went  oftenest  by  the  side  of  the  Sundering 
Flood,  but  as  yet  he  had  gone  up  the  water  and 
not  down. 


CHAPTER  IX.     THE   BIGHT  OF  THE 
CLOVEN    KNOLL. 

AND  now  it  was  mid-April,  and  the  good- 
man  dight  him  to  ride  to  a  mote  of  the 
neighbours  at  a  stead  hight  Bull-meads, 
where  the  Dalesmen  were  wont  to  gather  in  the 
spring,  that  they  might  ride  thence  all  together  to 
the  town  of  East  Cheaping  and  sell  the  autumn 
clip  of  wool  and  do  other  chaffer.  So  the  carle 
goes  his  ways  alone,  and  will  be  one  night  at  Bull- 
meads  and  two  at  East  Cheaping,  and  then  an- 
other at  Bull-meads,  and  be  back  on  the  fifth  day. 
And  when  he  was  gone  comes  Stephen  to  Os- 
berne,  and  says  :  Young  master,  I  am  going  pres- 
ently to  the  hill  with  the  sheep,  and  thou  needest 
neither  to  go  with  me  nor  fare  a-hunting  to-day, 
since  the  house  is  full  of  meat ;  so  thou  art  free, 
and  were  I  in  thy  shoes  I  would  go  straight  from 
this  door  down  to  the  water-side,  and  see  if  thou 
mayst  not  happen  on  something  fair  or  seldom 
seen.  And  it  were  not  amiss  to  do  on  thy  coat 
of  scarlet.  But  hearken  to  my  rede,  if  thou 
comest  on  aught  such,  thou  hast  no  need  to  tell 
of  it  to  any  one,  not  even  to  me. 

Osberne  thanks  him,  and  takes  his  bow  and 
arrows  and  goes  his  way,  and  comes  to  the  river- 
side and  turns  his  face  south,  and  goes  slowly  along 
the  very  edge  of  the  water ;  and  the  water  itself 
drew  his  eyes  down  to  gaze  on  the  dark  green 
deeps  and  fierce  downlong  swirl  of  the  stream,  with 


44  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

its  sharp  clean  lines  as  if  they  were  carven  in  steel, 
and  the  curling  and  upheaval  and  sudden  changing 
of  the  talking  eddies.  So  that  he  scarce  might  see 
the  famihar  greensward  of  the  further  shore. 

At  last,  when  he  had  gone  thus  more  than  two 
miles  from  where  he  first  hit  the  water,  a  long 
straight  reach  lay  before  him,  and  as  he  looked 
down  it,  it  seemed  as  if  the  river  came  presently 
to  an  end ;  but  in  sooth  there  was  a  sharp  turn  to 
the  east  by  which  the  water  ran,  but  narrowing 
much  ;  and  this  narrowing  was  made  by  the  thrust- 
ing forth  of  the  western  bank  into  a  sharp  ness, 
which  from  where  Osberne  now  stood  showed  a 
wide  flank  facing,  as  it  seemed,  the  whole  hurry- 
ing stream  of  the  Flood ;  but  the  stream  turned 
ere  it  smote  the  cliff,  and  striving  for  the  narrow 
outgate  made  a  prodigious  eddy  or  whirlpool  ere 
it  might  clear  itself  of  the  under-water  foot  of  the 
ness  and  make  eastward  so  as  to  rush  on  toward 
the  sea.  But  in  the  face  of  the  wall,  in  the  bight 
where  the  whirlpool  turned  from  it,  was  a  cave  the 
height  of  a  tall  man,  and  some  four  feet  athwart ; 
and  below  it  a  ledge,  thrust  out  from  the  sheer 
rock  and  hanging  over  the  terrible  water,  and  it 
was  but  a  yard  wide  or  so.  It  was  but  ten  feet 
above  the  water,  and  from  it  to  the  grass  above 
must  have  been  a  matter  of  forty  feet.  But  the 
ness  as  it  thrust  forth  into  the  river  rose  also,  so 
that  its  crest  was  a  score  of  feet  higher  where  it 
went  down  into  the  water  than  its  base  amidst  the 
green  grass.  Then  came  the  strait  passage  of  the 
water,  some  fifty  feet  across,  and  then  the  bank  of 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  45 

the  eastern  side,  which,  though  it  thrust  not  out, 
but  rather  was  as  it  were  driven  back  by  the  stream, 
yet  it  rose  toward  the  water,  though  not  so  much 
as  the  ness  over  against  it.  It  was  as  if  some  one 
had  cast  down  a  knoll  across  the  Sundering  Flood, 
and  the  stream  had  washed  away  the  sloped  side 
thereof,  and  then  had  sheared  its  way  through  by 
the  east  side  where  the  ground  was  the  softest. 
Forsooth  so  it  seemed  to  the  Dalesmen,  for  on 
either  side  they  called  it  the  Bight  of  the  Cloven 
Knoll. 

Osberne  stood  amazed  right  over  against  the 
cave  in  the  cliff-side,  and  stared  at  the  boiling  waters 
beneath  him,  that  seemed  mighty  enough  to  have 
made  a  hole  in  the  ship  of  the  world  and  sunk  it 
in  the  deep.  And  he  wondered  at  the  cave, 
whether  it  were  there  by  chance  hap,  or  that  some 
hands  had  wrought  it  for  an  habitation. 

And  as  he  stood  gazing  there,  on  a  sudden  there 
came  out  of  the  cave  a  shape  as  of  man,  and  stood 
upon  the  ledge  above  the  water,  and  the  lad  saw 
at  once  that  it  was  a  little  maiden  of  about  his  own 
age,  with  ruddy  golden  hair  streaming  down  from 
her  head,  and  she  was  clad  in  a  short  coat  of  dark 
blue  stuff  and  no  more  raiment,  as  far  as  he  could 
see.  Now,  as  aforesaid,  Osberne  was  in  his  holi- 
day raiment  of  red  scarlet  by  the  bidding  of 
Stephen.  Now  the  maiden  looks  up  and  sees  the 
lad  standing:  on  the  eastern  shore,  and  starts  back 
astonished.  Then  she  came  forward  agam  and 
looked  under  the  sharp  of  her  hand,  for  the  sun 
shone  from  the  south  and  was  cast  back  dazzling 


46  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

from  the  water.  There  was  but  some  fifty  feet  of 
water  between  them,  but  all  gurgling  and  rushing 
and  talking,  so  the  child  raised  a  shrill  and  clear 
voice  as  she  clapped  her  hands  together  and  cried  : 
O  thou  beauteous  creature,  what  art  thou  ?  Os- 
berne  laughed,  and  said  in  a  loud  voice :  I  am  a 
man,  but  young  of  years,  so  that  they  call  me  a 
boy,  and  a  bairn,  and  a  lad.  But  what  art  thou  ? 
Nay,  nay,  she  said,  I  must  be  nigher  to  thee ;  it 
is  over-wide  here  amidst  the  waters' speech.  Fare 
up  to  the  top  on  thy  side,  and  so  will  I.  And 
therewith  she  turned  about  and  fell  to  climbing  up 
the  side  of  the  cliff  by  the  broken  black  staves  and 
the  shaly  slips.  And  though  Osberne  were  a  boy, 
yea  and  a  tough  one  in  some  ways,  he  trembled 
and  his  heart  beat  quick  to  see  the  little  creature 
wending  that  perilous  upright  road,  and  he  might 
not  take  his  eyes  off  her  till  she  had  landed  safely 
on  the  greensward ;  then  he  turned  and  went 
swiftly  up  the  eastern  knoll,  and  reached  the  edge 
of  the  sheer  rock  just  as  the  maiden  came  running 
up  the  ness  on  her  side.  He  spake  not,  for  he 
was  eyeing  her  closely,  and  she  might  not  speak 
awhile  for  lack  of  breath.  At  last  she  said  :  Now 
are  we  as  near  to  each  other  as  we  may  be  to-day ; 
yea  for  many  days,  or  it  may  be  for  all  our  lives 
long:  so  now  let  us  talk.  She  set  her  two  feet 
together  and  held  her  hands  in  front  of  her,  and 
so  stood  as  if  she  looked  for  him  to  begin.  But 
the  words  came  not  speedily  to  his  mouth,  and  at 
last  she  said  :  I  wonder  why  thou  wilt  not  speak 
again ;  for  thy  laugh  was  as  the  voice  of  a  dear 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  47 

bird  ;  and  thy  voice  is  beauteous,  so  loud  and  clear. 
He  laughed,  and  said :  Well  then,  I  will  speak. 
Tell  me  what  thou  art.  Art  thou  of  the  Faery  ? 
for  thou  art  too  well  shapen  to  be  of  the  Dwarf- 
kin.  She  clapped  her  hands  together  and  laughed  ; 
then  she  said :  I  laughed  not  as  mocking  thy 
question,  but  for  joy  to  hear  thy  voice  again. 
Nay,  nay,  I  am  no  Faery,  but  of  the  children  of 
men.  But  thou,  art  thou  not  of  the  sons  of  the 
Land-wights  ?  No  more  than  thou  art,  said  he. 
I  am  a  goodman's  sonj  but  my  father  is  dead,  and 
my  mother  also,  and  I  live  at  home  at  Wethermel 
up  the  water,  with  my  grandsire  and  grandame. 
Said  she  :  Are  they  kind  to  thee  ?  The  lad  drew 
himself  up:  I  am  kind  to  them,  said  he.  How 
goodly  thou  art,  she  said;  that  was  why  I  dreamed 
thou  must  be  of  the  Land-wights,  because  I  have 
seen  divers  men,  some  old,  some  young  like  to 
thee,  but  none  half  so  goodly.  He  smiled,  and 
said :  Well,  I  thought  thou  wert  of  the  Faery  be- 
cause thou  art  goodly  and  little.  I  have  seen  a 
pretty  maid  not  long  since,  but  she  was  older  than 
thou,  I  deem,  and  far  taller.  But  tell  me,  how 
old  art  thou  ?  She  said  :  When  May  is  half  worn 
I  shall  be  of  thirteen  winters.  Lo  now,  said  he, 
we  be  nigh  of  an  age ;  I  was  thirteen  in  early 
April.  But  thou  hast  not  told  me  where  thou 
dwellest,  and  how.  She  said  :  I  dwell  at  Hart 
Shaw  Knolls  hard  by.  I  am  the  daughter  of  a 
goodman,  as  thou  art,  and  my  father  and  mother 
are  dead,  so  that  my  father  I  never  saw,  and  now 
I   dwell  with   my  two   aunts,  and  they  be   both 


48  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

older  than  was  my  mother.  Are  they  kind  to 
thee  ?  said  the  lad,  laughing  that  he  must  cast  back 
her  question.  Whiles,  said  she,  laughing  also, 
and  whiles  not :  maybe  that  is  because  I  am  not 
always  kind  to  them,  as  thou  art  to  thy  folk.  He 
answered  nought,  and  she  was  silent  awhile  ;  then 
he  said :  What  is  in  thy  mind,  maiden .?  This, 
she  said,  that  I  am  thinking  how  fair  a  chance  it 
was  that  I  should  have  seen  thee,  for  thou  hast 
made  me  so  glad.  Said  he :  We  can  see  each 
other  again  belike  and  make  it  less  of  a  chance. 

0  yea,  she  said,  and  was  silent  awhile.     Said  he  : 

1  wot  not  why  it  was  that  thou  wert  in  the  cave : 
and  tell  me,  is  it  not  exceeding  perilous,  the  climb- 
ing up  and  down  ?  why  wilt  thou  do  that  ?  Also 
I  must  tell  thee,  that  this  was  another  cause  why 
I  thought  thou  wert  of  Faery,  that  thou  camest 
out  of  the  cave. 

Said  she :  I  will  tell  thee  all  about  the  cave ; 
but  first  as  to  the  peril  of  going  thither  and  com- 
ing thence  :  wouldst  thou  be  very  sorry  if  I  were 
lost  on  the  way  ?  Yea,  said  he,  exceeding  sorry. 
Well,  said  she,  then  fear  it  not,  for  it  is  so  much 
a  wont  of  mine  that  to  me  there  is  no  peril  there- 
in :  yet  am  I  glad  that  thou  wert  afraid  for  me. 
I  was  sore  afraid,  said  Osberne.  Now  as  to  the 
cave,  said  the  maiden.  I  found  it  out  two  years 
ago,  when  I  was  very  little,  and  the  women  had 
been  less  than  kind  to  me.  And  thither  may  I 
go  whenas  I  would  that  they  should  seek  me  not ; 
because  folk  say  that  it  is  a  dwelling  of  the  Dwarfs, 
and  they  fear  to  enter  it.      Besides,  when  I  think 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  49 

of  my  kinswomen  coming  down  the  rock  to  find 
me  therein,  and  they  be  tall,  and  one  stiff,  as  if 
she  were  cut  out  of  timber,  and  the  other  exceed- 
ing fat,  that  makes  me  merry ! 

And  therewith  she  sat  down  on  the  very  edge 
of  the  cliff  with  her  little  legs  hanging  over  the 
water,  and  laughed,  rocking  to  and  fro  in  her 
laughter,  and  Osberne  laughed  also.  But  he  said: 
But  art  thou  not  afraid  of  the  Dwarfs?  She  said: 
Dear  bairn,  or  boy,  I  had  been  there  many  times 
before  I  heard  tell  of  the  Dwarfs,  and  I  gat  no 
harm,  and  after  I  had  heard  the  tale  I  went  still, 
and  still  gat  no  harm.  May  I  tell  thee  somewhat  ? 
I  gat  gifts,  or  such  they  seemed  unto  me.  First 
I  had  to  herd  the  sheep  and  take  them  to  the  best 
grass,  and  whiles  they  strayed  and  were  wearisome 
to  me,  and  I  came  home  with  divers  missing,  and 
then  would  I  be  wyted,  or  even  whipped,  for  what 
was  no  fault  of  mine.  And  one  such  time  I  be- 
took me  to  the  cave  and  sat  therein  and  wept,  and 
complained  to  myself  of  my  harm,  and  when  I 
went  out  of  the  cave  I  saw  on  the  ledge  close  to 
my  foot  a  thing  lying,  and  I  took  it  up,  and  saw 
that  it  was  a  pipe  with  seven  holes  therein,  and 
when  I  blew  into  it  it  made  sweet  and  merry  little 
music.  So  I  thought  it  great  prize,  and  went 
away  home  with  it  with  all  my  sorrows  well  healed. 
But  the  next  day  I  drove  my  sheep  to  grass,  as 
my  business  was,  and,  as  oft  happened,  they 
strayed,  and  I  followed  them  and  gat  nothing 
done  ;  so  I  was  weary,  and  afraid  of  what  would 
betide  at    home  in   the    stead.     So    I   sat   down 


50  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

on  a  stone,  and  when  I  had  wept  a  Httle  I  thought 
I  would  comfort  myself  with  the  music  of  the 
pipe.  But  lo,  a  wonder !  for  no  sooner  had  a 
note  or  two  sounded,  than  all  the  sheep  came 
running  up  to  me,  bleating  and  mowing,  and 
would  rub  against  my  sides  as  I  sat  piping,  and 
home  I  brought  every  head  in  all  glee.  And  even 
so  has  it  befallen  ever  since  ;  and  that  was  hard 
on  a  year  agone.  Fair  boy,  what  dost  thou  think 
I  am  doing  now?  Osberne  laughed.  Disporting 
thee  in  speech  with  a  friend,  said  he.  Nay,  said 
she,  but  I  am  shepherding  sheep. 

And  she  drew  forth  the  pipe  from  her  bosom 
and  fell  to  playing  it,  and  a  ravishing  sweet  melody 
came  thence,  and  so  merry,  that  the  lad  himself 
began  to  shift  his  feet  as  one  moving  to  measure, 
and  straightway  he  heard  a  sound  of  bleating,  and 
sheep  came  running  toward  the  maiden  from  all 
about.  Then  she  arose  and  ran  to  them,  lest  they 
should  shove  each  other  into  the  water ;  and  she 
danced  before  them,  lifting  up  her  scanty  blue 
skirts  and  twinkling  her  bare  feet  and  legs,  while 
her  hair  danced  about  her ;  and  the  sheep,  they 
too  capered  and  danced  about  as  if  she  had  bidden 
them.  And  the  boy  looked  on  and  laughed  with- 
out stint,  and  he  deemed  it  the  best  of  games  to 
behold.  But  when  she  was  weary  she  came  back 
to  the  head  of  the  ness  and  sat  down  again  as  be- 
fore, and  let  the  sheep  go  where  they  would. 


CHAPTER    X.      OSBERNE    AND    ELF- 
HILD   HOLD  CONVERSE  TOGETHER. 

SO  when  she  was  rested  she  fell  to  speech  again  : 
Dear  lad,  this  was  the  first  gift,  and  I  could 
not  but  deem  that  some  one  had  heard  me 
make  my  moan  unseen  and  had  given  me  that 
good  gift.  So  what  must  I  do  but  try  it  again, 
and  one  day  I  went  down  into  the  cave  and  fell 
to  bewailing  me  that  I  had  nought  to  deck  me 
with,  neither  of  gold  nor  silver,  as  other  maidens 
had,  for  in  sooth  I  had  seen  them  with  such  things. 
And  when  I  had  done,  I  went  forth  on  to  the 
ledge,  and  this  time  I  trod  cautiously  lest  I  should 
kick  the  dainty  thing  into  the  water,  and  lo,  there 
lay  this  pretty  thing.  And  she  drew  forth  from 
her  bosom  a  necklace  of  gold  and  gems;  gold  and 
emerald,  gold  and  sapphire,  gold  and  ruby  ;  and 
it  flashed  in  the  sun,  and  Osberne  thought  it  a 
fair  toy  indeed,  but  knew  not  that  scarce  a  queen 
had  got  aught  so  fair  in  her  treasure.  Ye  may 
wot  well  that  1  dare  not  show  either  this  or  the 
pipe  to  my  aunts,  who  would  have  taken  them 
away  from  me  and  cried  horror  at  them  ;  for  oft 
would  they  cry  out  at  the  evil  things  that  dwelt 
in  the  ness  and  all  the  ills  they  brought  on  the 
children  of  men.  So  I  play  on  the  pipe  when 
none  are  by,  and  I  deck  myself  sitting  in  the  sun 
with  this  fair  necklace.  Look  thou,  lad,  for  it 
is  a  joy  to  show  me  unto  thee  so  decked.  And 
she  did   back   her  raiment   from    her   thin   neck, 


52  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  it  was  white  as  snow  under  the  woollen,  and 
she  did  on  the  necklace,  and  Osberne  thought  in- 
deed that  it  sat  well  there,  and  that  her  head  and 
neck  looked  grand  and  graithly. 

Then  she  said  :  One  other  gift  I  gat  from  these 
cave- folk,  if  there  be  such  in  the  cave.  On  a  day 
I  was  ailing,  and  could  scarce  hold  up  my  head 
for  weariness  and  sickness;  so  I  stole  down  hither 
and  clomb  with  all  trouble  and  peril  down  to  the 
cave,  and  fell  to  bewailing  my  sickness,  and  scarce 
had  I  done  ere  I  felt  exceeding  drowsy,  and  so  laid 
me  down  on  the  floor  of  the  cave  and  fell  asleep 
there,  feeling  sick  no  longer  even  then.  And  when 
I  awoke,  after  some  three  hours  as  I  deemed,  there 
was  nought  amiss  with  me,  and  I  climbed  up  to 
grass  again  strong  and  merry,  and  making  nought 
of  the  climb.  And  even  so  have  I  done  once  and 
again,  and  never  have  the  good  folk  failed  me 
herein.  Hast  thou  ever  had  dealings  with  such- 
like creatures  ^  Osberne  answered,  and  told  her 
of  his  meeting  with  the  Dwarf  that  time,  and  held 
up  to  her  the  whittle  he  had  got,  and  flashed  it  in 
the  sun  ;  and  then  he  was  about  to  tell  her  of  Steel- 
head.  But  he  remembered  that  he  was  scarce  free 
to  tell  any  one  of  him,  so  he  held  his  peace  there- 
of; but  he  said :  Meseemeth,  maiden,  that  thou 
art  not  without  might,  such  friends  as  thou  hast. 
But  tell  me,  what  canst  thou  do  beside  the  shep- 
herding ?  She  said  :  I  can  spin  and  weave,  and 
bake  the  bread  and  make  the  butter,  and  grind 
meal  at  the  quern  ;  but  the  last  is  hard  work,  and 
I  would  not  do  it  uncompelled,  nor  forsooth  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  S3 

indoor  work  either,  for  nought  but  the  shepherd- 
ing is  to  my  mind.  But  now  tell  me,  what  canst 
thou  do  ?  He  said  :  Meseems  I  cannot  keep  my 
sheep  together  so  well  as  thou  ;  but  last  autumn 
I  learned  how  to  slay  wolves  that  would  tear  the 
sheep. 

She  rose  up  as  if  to  look  at  him  the  better,  and 
strained  her  hands  together  hard,  and  gazed  eagerly 
at  him.  He  saw  that  she  was  wondering  at  him 
and  praising  him,  so  he  said  lightly  :  It  is  no  so 
great  a  matter  as  some  think  ;  what  is  most  needed 
is  a  good  heart  and  a  quick  eye.  Thus  I  slew 
the  three  of  them.  O,  she  said,  now  I  know  that 
thou  art  that  fair  child  and  champion  of  whom  I 
have  heard  tell,  that  thy  deed  was  a  wonder ;  and 
now  thou  art  so  kind  that  thou  wilt  wear  the  day 
talking  to  a  poor  and  feeble  maiden.  Said  he  :  I 
do  that  because  it  is  my  will  and  it  pleases  me  to 
see  thee  and  talk  to  thee,  for  thou  art  good  to 
look  at  and  dear.  Then  she  said  :  But  what  else 
canst  thou  do.  Champion  ?  Said  he :  Of  late  I 
am  thought  to  be  somewhat  deft  at  shooting  in 
the  bow,  so  that  whatso  I  aim  at,  that  I  hit.  Thus 
I  am  not  like  to  lack  for  meat.  Yea,  she  said, 
but  that  is  wonderful ;  and  besides,  now  canst 
thou  shoot  at  the  wolves  from  afar  without  their 
being  able  to  come  at  thee  to  bite  thee.  But  now 
it  is  hard  to  get  thee  to  tell  of  thy  prowess,  and  I 
must  ask  after  every  deal.  Tell  me  of  something 
else.  Quoth  he :  At  home  they  deem  me  some- 
what of  a  scald,  so  that  I  can  smithy  out  staves. 
She  clapped  her  hands  together  and  cried :  Now 


54  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

that  is  good  indeed,  since  thou  canst  also  slay 
wolves.  But  how  sweet  it  would  be  for  me  to 
have  thee  making  a  stave  before  me  now.  Wouldst 
thou  .?  I  wot  not,  he  said,  laughing ;  but  let  me 
try.  So  he  sat  down  and  fell  to  conning  his 
rhymes,  while  she  stood  looking  on  from  across 
the  water.     At  last  he  stood  up  and  sang : 

Now  the  grass  groweth  free. 

And  the  lily  's  on  lea. 

And  the  April-tide  green 

Is  full  goodly  beseen  ; 

And  far  behind 

Lies  the  winter  blind. 

And  the  lord  of  the  Gale 

Is  shadowy  pale  ; 

And  thou,  linden  be-blossomed,  with  bed  of  the  worm 

Comest  forth  from  the  dark  house  as  spring  from  the  storm. 

O  barm-cloth  tree. 

The  light  is  in  thee. 

And  as  spring-tide  shines 

Through  the  lily  lines. 

So  forth  from  thine  heart 

Through  thy  red  lips  apart 

Came  words  and  love 

To  wolf-bane's  grove. 

And  the  shaker  of  battle-board  blesseth  the  Earth 

For  the  love  and  the  longing,  kind  craving  and  mirth. 

May  I  forget 
The  grass  spring- wet 
And  the  quivering  stem 
On  the  brooklet's  hem. 
And  the  brake  thrust  up 
And  the  saffron's  cup. 
Each  fashioned  thing 
From  the  heart  of  Spring, 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  55 

Long  ere  I  forget  it,  the  house  of  thy  word 

And  doors  of  thy  learning,  the  roof  of  speech-hoard. 

When  thou  art  away 

In  the  winter  grey. 

Through  the  hall-reek  then 

And  the  din  of  men 

Shall  I  yet  behold 

Sif's  hair  of  gold 

And  Hild's  bright  feet. 

The  battle-fleet. 

And  from  threshold  to  hearthstone,  like  as  songs  of  the  South, 

To  and  fro  shall  be  fleeting  the  words  of  thy  mouth. 

Then  his  song  dropped  down,  and  they  stood 
looking  silently  at  each  other,  and  tears  ran  over 
the  little  maiden's  cheeks.  But  she  spake  first, 
and  said  :  Most  lovely  is  thy  lay ;  and  there  is 
this  in  it,  that  I  see  thou  hast  made  it  while  thou 
wert  sitting  there,  for  it  is  all  about  thee  and  me, 
and  how  thou  lovest  me  and  I  thee.  And  full 
surely  I  know  that  thou  wilt  one  day  be  a  great 
and  mighty  man.  Yet  this  I  find  strange  in  thy 
song  almost  to  foolishness,  that  thou  speakest  in 
it  as  I  were  a  woman  grown,  and  thou  a  grown 
man,  whereas  we  be  both  children.  And  look, 
heed  it,  what  sunders  us,  this  mighty  Flood,  which 
hath  been  from  the  beginning  and  shall  be  to  the 
end. 

He  answered  not  awhile,  and  then  he  said  :  I 
might  not  help  it ;  the  words  came  into  my 
mouth,  and  meseems  they  be  better  said  than  un- 
said. Look  to  it  if  I  do  not  soon  some  deed  such 
as  bairns  be  not  used  to  doing.  That  I  deem  is 
like  to  be,  she  said,  yet  it  shall  be  a  long  time  ere 


^6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

folk  shall  call  us  man  and  woman.  But  now, 
fair  child,  I  must  needs  go  homeward,  and  thou 
must  let  me  go  or  I  shall  be  called  in  question. 
Yea,  said  Osberne ;  yet  I  would  give  thee  a  gift 
if  I  might,  but  I  know  not  what  to  give  thee  save 
it  were  my  Dwarf-wrought  whittle.  She  laughed 
and  said  :  That  were  a  gift  for  a  man,  but  not  for 
me ;  keep  it  safe,  dear  and  kind  lad.  I  for  my 
part  were  fain  of  giving  thee  somewhat ;  but  as 
for  my  pipe,  I  fear  me  that  I  could  never  throw 
it  across  the  water.  I  would  I  might  reach  thee 
with  my  gold  and  gem  necklace,  but  I  fear  for  it 
lest  the  Sundering  Flood  devour  it.  What  shall 
I  do  then  ?  Nought  at  all,  dear  maiden,  said  the 
lad.  I  would  no  wise  take  thy  pipe  from  thee, 
which  saveth  thee  from  blame  and  beating  ;  and 
as  to  the  necklace,  that  is  woman's  gear  even  as 
the  whittle  is  man's.  Keep  it  safe  till  thou  art 
become  a  great  lady.  Well,  she  said,  now  let  me 
go  ;  it  almost  seems  to  me  as  I  might  not  till 
thou  hast  given  me  leave.  Yea,  said  he  ;  but  first, 
when  shall  I  come  to  see  thee  again,  and  thou  me  ? 
Shall  it  be  to-morrow  ?  O  nay,  she  said,  it  may 
not  be,  lest  they  take  note  of  me  if  I  come  down 
here  over  often.  Let  it  be  after  three  days  first : 
and  then  the  next  time  it  must  be  longer.  Quoth 
Osberne  :  Let  the  next  time  take  care  of  itself; 
but  I  will  come  in  three  days.  Now  I  bid  thee 
depart,  and  I  will  go  home  ;  but  I  would  kiss 
thee  were  it  not  for  the  Sundering  Flood.  That  is 
kind  and  dear  of  thee,  said  the  maiden.  Fare- 
well, and  forget  me  not  in  three  days,  since  thou 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  57 

hast  sung  that  song  to  me.      I  shall  not  forget  so 
soon,  said  he.      Farewell  ! 

She  turned  about  and  ran  down  the  ness  with 
the  pipe  in  her  hand,  and  Osberne  heard  the  sweet 
voice  of  the  pipe  thereafter,  and  the  bleating  of 
the  sheep  and  the  paddling  of  their  hoofs  as  they 
ran  toward  her,  and  he  went  his  ways  home  with 
all  that  in  his  ears,  and  was  well  content  with  his 
day's  work ;  and  he  deemed  that  he  understood 
the  rede  which  Steelhead  had  given  him.  Withal 
he  had  an  inkling  that  Stephen  the  Eater  was 
somehow  his  friend  in  more  special  way  than  he 
was  to  the  rest  of  the  household  ;  so  he  came 
home  to  Wethermel  in  good  case. 


CHAPTER   XL     OSBERNE    SHOOTS   A 
GIFT   ACROSS   THE    FLOOD. 

NOW  when  the  three  days  were  over  he  went 
his  ways  to  the  Bight  of  the  Cloven  Knoll, 
and  Stephen  smiled  and  nodded  to  him 
friendly  as  he  went  out  of  the  door,  and  once 
more  he  was  clad  in  his  red-scarlet  raiment.  He 
had  his  bow  in  his  hand,  and,  besides  the  three 
arrows  which  the  hillman  had  given,  he  had  two 
others  out  of  the  goodman's  quiver.  Moreover 
he  had  thought  over  from  time  to  time  what  he 
might  give  to  the  maiden,  and  now  he  had  in  his 
pouch  a  fair  gold  piece  which  his  mother  had 
given  him  when  he  was  yet  very  young,  and  he 
thought  that  this  were  a  fair  gift  might  he  but  get 
it  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  Sundering  Flood. 

Now  when  he  was  within  eyeshot  of  the  ness 
he  looked  thither,  and  saw  a  little  figure  on  the 
crest  thereof,  and  knew  that  the  maiden  had  pre- 
vented him  and  was  there  already,  so  he  hastened 
all  he  might  to  his  own  vantage  ground,  and 
straightway  he  gave  her  the  sele  of  the  day,  and 
she  greeted  him  kindly.  Then  he  looks  and  sees 
that  she  is  somewhat  decked  out  for  this  meeting, 
for  not  only  did  the  Dwarfs'  gift,  the  necklace, 
gleam  and  glitter  on  her  little  flat  child's  bosom, 
but  also  she  had  made  her  a  wreath  for  her  head 
of  the  spring  flowers,  and  another  had  she  done 
about  her  loins.  She  stood  there  saying  nothing 
awhile,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  she  was  waiting 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  59 

for  him  to  praise  this  new-wrought  adornment. 
So  he  said  :  Thou  art  in  fairer  guise  than  when  first 
I  saw  thee ;  is  there  any  high-tide  toward  at  thy 
stead?  Nay,  she  said;  I  did  this  because  I  looked 
to  see  thee  to-day,  whereas  the  other  time  we  happed 
on  each  other  unawares.  But  hast  thou  done  any 
more  great  deeds  ?  He  laughed  and  said  :  Nay, 
nay,  let  me  grow  a  few  days  older  yet.  Never- 
theless there  is  this  new  thing,  that  this  morning 
I  have  brought  thee  a  gift  which  I  deem  I  may 
flit  to  thee,  and  I  shall  give  it  to  thee  with  a  good 
will  if  thou  wilt  promise  that  thou  wilt  not  part 
with  it  ever.  With  all  my  heart  will  I  promise 
that,  she  said  ;  but  tell  me  what  it  is  ;  show  it  to 
me.  He  drew  it  forth  and  held  it  up  between  his 
finger  and  thumb,  and  said  :  It  is  a  golden  penny, 
very  fair,  and  I  deem  it  comes  from  some  far 
country.  My  mother  gave  it  to  me  when  I  was 
very  young ;  yet  I  remember  that  she  bade  me 
part  not  with  it,  save  I  should  give  it  to  one  unto 
whom  I  wished  all  luck,  for  that  she  deemed  that 
luck  went  with  it.  Now  thou  art  so  fair  and  so 
dear,  and  my  only  fellow  of  a  like  age,  that  I  wish 
luck  to  thee  as  much  as  luck  can  be  found ;  so  I 
will  flit  it  to  thee  this  wise,  that  I  will  do  it  up  in 
a  piece  of  cloth  and  tie  it  to  the  head  of  this  arrow, 
which  is  of  no  account,  and  shoot  it  over  to  thee. 
And  therewith  he  knelt  down  and  fell  to  wrap- 
ping it  up  in  a  rag. 

As  for  the  maiden,  she  was  all  eager  and  quiver- 
ing with  joy  at  the  getting  of  such  a  gift ;  yet  she 
spake  and  said  :  O  how  good  thou  art  to  me  :  yet 


6o  THE    SUNDERING   FLOOD 

I  deem  not  that  thou  shouldst  give  me  thy  mother's 
gift.  And  moreover  why  shouldst  thou  shoot 
away  thy  luck  ?  It  may  be  that  I  am  not  doomed 
to  be  lucky, as  surely  thou  art;  and  it  may  well  be 
that  thou  mayst  give  me  thy  luck  and  make  thee 
less  lucky,  without  eking  mine,  if  unluck  be  my 
weird. 

Now  though  he  had  set  his  heart  on  giving  the 
gold  to  the  fair  child,  yet  her  words  seemed  wise 
to  him,  and  he  said :  What  then  shall  we  do  ? 
She  said  :  Abide  awhile  till  I  think  of  it.  So  they 
were  silent  awhile,  both  of  them,  till  the  little  maid 
looked  up  and  said:  Is  it  a  round  thing?  Yea, 
said  he.  What  is  there  upon  it  ?  she  said.  Quoth 
Osberne  :  On  one  side  be  two  warriors,  and  on  the 
other  the  Rood  and  certain  letters.  She  thought 
again  and  said :  How  much  were  it  marred  if  it 
were  halved,  one  warrior  and  half  across  ?  He 
said  :  That  hangs  upon  this,  who  has  one  half  and 
who  the  other.  She  said  :  How  would  it  be,  since 
I  can  see  that  thou  wishest  that  I  should  share  thy 
gift,  and  belike  thy  luck  also,  if  thou  wert  to  do 
it  into  two  halves,  and  keep  one  thyself  and  shoot 
me  the  other  over  the  flood  ?  He  leapt  up  and 
fell  a-dancing  for  joy  as  she  spake,  and  cried  out: 
O,  but  thou  art  wise !  Now  1  can  see  that  this  is 
what  my  mother  meant  me  to  do,  to  share  the 
gold  and  the  luck. 

Therewith  he  took  the  penny  out  of  its  wrap- 
ping and  drew  forth  his  whittle,  and  gat  a  big  stone 
and  set  the  gold  on  the  steel  and  smote  it,  deftly 
enough  ;  for  he  was   no  ill   smith   for  his  years. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  6l 

Then  he  stood  up  and  cried  out:  There,  it  is  done, 
and  neither  of  the  warriors  is  scathed,  for  there 
was  a  waste  place  betwixt  them.  Now  then  for  the 
shaft  and  the  bow !  The  maiden  looked  eagerly 
with  knitted  brows,  and  soon  saw  Osberne  take  up 
the  shaft  and  nock  it  on  the  bow-string.  Then  he 
said  :  Take  heed  and  stand  still  and  the  halfling 
shall  be  thine.  Look  now,  I  will  send  the  shaft 
so  that  it  shall  go  in  the  grass-grown  cleft  betwixt 
the  two  big  stones  behind  thee  to  thy  right  hand. 
He  raised  his  bow  therewith,  and  saw  how  she 
gathered  her  skirts  about  her,  as  if  she  would  not 
have  them  hinder  the  shaft.  Then  he  loosed,  and 
the  shaft  flew,  but  she  abode  still  a  little  ;  and  he 
laughed  and  said  :  Go,  maiden,  and  find  the  shaft 
and  the  gold.  Then  she  turned  and  ran  to  the  cleft, 
and  took  out  the  arrow,  and  did  off  the  wrapping 
with  trembling  fingers  and  gat  the  gold  and  looked 
on  it,  and  cried  out :  O  the  fair  warrior  !  such  like 
shalt  thou  be  one  day  upon  a  penny,  dear  child. 

Then  she  came  forward  again  and  said  :  Now 
this  is  strange,  that  neither  last  time  nor  now  have 
we  told  each  other  our  names  :  now  I  will  tell 
thee  that  my  name  is  Elfhild,  of  Hart  Shaw  Knolls. 
What  is  thine  !  Elfhild,  my  child,  said  he,  my 
name  is  Osberne,  Wulfgrim's  son,  and  I  am  of 
Wethermel,  as  I  told  thee.  Yet  belike  it  is  not 
so  strange  that  we  have  not  told  our  names  hither- 
to, and  I  hope  no  ill-luck  will  go  with  our  telling 
them,  for  I  suppose  that  people  give  each  other 
names  when  there  are  many  of  them,  and  they 
would  know  one  from  another.  But  as  to  us, 
there  be  only  two   of  us,  so  that  if  I    call   thee 


62  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

Maiden,  and  thou  call  me  Swain,  it  had  been 
enough.  Nevertheless  I  am  fain  of  calling  thee 
Elfhild.  And  I  am  full  fain  of  calling  thee  Os- 
berne,  she  said.  Besides,  if  at  any  time  both  thou 
and  I  were  to  depart  from  this  country-side  we 
might  chance  to  meet  amongst  folk  of  many  names, 
and  thus  we  might  the  better  know  each  other. 
But  O  !  she  said,  growing  exceeding  eager,  dost 
thou  know  how  good  a  gift  thou  hast  given  me  ? 
for  the  halves  of  the  penny,  we  shall  both  keep 
them  forever,  as  thou  knowest,  and  by  our  having 
them  we  shall  know  each  other  if  we  meet  in  the 
world  without  and  our  faces  have  become  changed. 
Said  Osberne  :  I  deem  not  that  my  face  will 
change  very  much,  at  least  not  till  I  grow  old,  nor 
do  I  think  that  thine  will  either.  She  laughed 
merrily  :  O  bairn  Osberne,  when  thou  art  become 
a  man  and  a  great  man,  and  art  called  maybe  Earl 
Osberne  Wulfgrimsson,  will  not  thy  face  have 
changed,  and  thou  with  the  beard  and  the  fierce 
eyes,  and  the  mouth  that  hath  shouted  in  the 
battle?  As  for  me,  Allhallows  grant  it  that  my 
face  may  change  :  look  at  me,  a  kind  of  red  crow 
now,  all  skinny  and  spindle-legged,  and  yet  I  may 
grow  to  be  a  fair  woman  ;  and  then  indeed  I  would 
be  fain  for  thee  to  see  me.  For  somehow  it  seems 
to  be  shown  to  me  that  thou  wilt  be  loved  of 
women,  and  love  them  somewhat  over-much.  For 
my  part,  said  Osberne,  I  seem  to  see  of  myself 
that  I  shall  have  much  to  do  slaying  wolves  and 
evil  things,  and  standing  before  kings  and  getting 
gifts  of  them,  so  that  there  will  be  little  time  for  me 
to  go  about  loving  women  ;    yet  thee  I  shall  ever 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  6 2 

love,  Elfhild.  And  he  reddened' as  he  spake  this, 
as  though  he  were  a  youth  before  his  time.  But 
Elfhild  said  :  In  all  ways  thou  art  kind  to  me, 
and  thee  shall  I  ever  love.  But  now  tell  me,  Os- 
berne,  what  wouldst  thou  have  me  do  to-day  to 
make  game  and  play  for  thee  ^  Said  he  :  Call  up 
the  sheep  again  to  thee  with  the  sweet  little  pipe,  for 
therein  is  much  game.  She  nodded  her  head 
merrily,  and  drew  forth  her  pipe  and  played,  and 
the  sheep  came  bundling  up  as  the  day  before  ;  and 
she  danced  and  played  a  long  while,  and  Osberne 
clapped  his  hands  and  laughed  and  egged  her  on, 
and  was  full  fain  of  her  dancing ;  and  forsooth  it 
was  a  wonder  and  delight  to  see  her.  At  last  she 
was  wearied  out,  and  cast  herself  on  the  grass  at 
the  very  edge  of  the  cliff,  and  said  that  she  could 
no  more.     And  Osberne  thanked  her  kindly. 

So  when  she  had  gotten  her  breath  again,  she 
asked  him  what  next  she  should  do  for  his  dis- 
port. And  he  bade  tell  him  of  how  she  lived 
with  those  two  women,  her  aunts,  and  what  she 
did  from  day  to  day.  So  she  sat  down  as  on  the 
other  day,  with  her  legs  hanging  down  over  the 
grisly  flood,  and  told  him  full  sweetly  of  her  joys 
and  her  work  and  her  troubles.  And  some  of 
the  tale  was  piteous  enough,  for  the  two  kins- 
women, who  were  by  no  means  old,  for  the  eldest 
was  only  of  thirty  summers,  were  somewhat  hard 
with  the  child  and  right  careless  of  her,  as  shall 
be  shown  afterwards.  But  after  a  little  she  broke 
off  and  said:  But  Osberne,  dear,  these  be  no  fair 
tales  for  thee,  though  thou  art  kind  to  hearken 


64  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

to  them.  I  have  better  tales  than  that,  of  cham- 
pions to  wit,  and  ladies  and  castles  and  dragons 
and  the  like,  that  I  have  heard ;  some  of  my 
kinswomen,  some  of  folk  that  come  to  our  house 
at  a  pinch,  for  it  is  a  poor  house.  And  some, 
yea  and  most  and  the  best,  from  an  old  woman 
who  dwelleth  in  a  cot  not  far  from  us;'i,and  she 
loveth  me  and  hath  learned  me  much  lore ;  and 
I  will  tell  thee  thereof  if  thou  wilt  hearken.  I  will 
well,  said  he,  and  thanks  thou  shalt  have  of  me ; 
I  would  I  might  give  thee  some  other  gift.  She 
said  :  My  tale  reward  will  be  that  thou  shalt  tell 
me  over  and  over  the  staves  thou  madest  last 
time  we  met,  till  I  have  them  by  heart.  And 
other  staves  shalt  thou  make  for  me  if  thou  wilt. 
Thus  is  the  bargain  struck,  said  the  lad,  now  get 
thee  to  the  work. 

So  the  little  maiden  fell  to  telling  him  a  tale  of 
the  Faery,  and  when  it  was  done  he  asked  for 
another ;  but  this  was  a  long  one,  and  wore  the 
day  down,  so  that  Elf  hild  must  needs  depart  ere 
it  was  done.  Then  was  a  talk  of  when  the  next 
meeting  should  be,  and  to  Osberne  nought  was 
near  enough  save  to-morrow.  But  Elfhild  said 
that  it  was  nought  safe,  lest  aught  should  wake 
up  her  kinswomen  to  asking  of  her  whereabouts, 
and  again  the  meeting  was  appointed  for  three 
days  thence ;  but  had  it  not  been  for  the  tale,  for 
which  something  must  be  risked,  Elfhild  said  that 
the  time  between  must  be  a  week.  So  each  of  the 
children  departed  to  their  houses  well  pleased. 


CHAPTER  XII.     OF  A  GUEST  CALLED 
WAYWEARER. 

NOW  hereafter  all  went  the  same  way,  that 
from  time  to  time  they  met  on  either 
side  the  Sundering  Flood,  save  that 
Osberne  came  not  ever  in  his  fair-dyed  raiment, 
but  was  mostly  clad  in  russet;  but  on  Elfhild's 
birthday  he  was  clad  in  his  best.  Otherwise 
nought  befell  to  tell  of.  Whiles  either  of  the 
children  were  ailing,  whiles  Elfhild  was  kept  at 
home  by  her  kinswomen,  and  so  they  failed  each 
other,  but  never  by  their  own  will.  The  one 
who  came  to  the  trysting-place  and  missed  the 
other  was  sore  grieved,  and  in  special  Osberne, 
whose  child's  heart  swelled  nigh  to  bursting  with 
sorrow  mingled  with  wrath,  and  at  such  times 
the  Sundering  Flood  seemed  to  him  like  the  coils 
of  a  deadly  serpent  which  was  strangling  the 
life  out  of  him,  and  he  would  wend  home  in  all 
despair. 

So  wore  the  days  through  spring  and  summer 
and  early  autumn,  and  at  Wethermel  all  went 
smoothly,  and  the  goodman  there  was  better 
pleased  than  ever  with  his  new  man,  who,  if  he 
ate  two  men's  victuals,  did  three  men's  work;  as 
for  Osberne,  he  loved  Stephen  dearly,  and 
Stephen  for  his  part  was  for  ever  doing  something 
for  his  disport,  and  in  two  ways  in  special.  For 
first  he  was,  like  Elfhild,  stuffed  with  all  kinds  of 
tales  and   histories,  and  oft  when  they  were  out 


66  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

a-shepherding  he  would  tell  these  to  Osberne  day 
long;  and  not  unseldom  when  the  tale  was  under 
way  the  lad  would  cry  out :  Fair  is  thy  tale,  but 
I  have  heard  it  before,  only  it  is  different  thus 
and  thus.  And  in  sooth  he  had  heard  it  from 
Eifhild.  The  other  matter  was  that  Stephen  was 
a  smith  exceeding  deft,  and  learned  the  craft 
to  Osberne,  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  year  he 
bade  fair  to  be  a  good  smith  himself.  More- 
over, whiles  would  Stephen  take  a  scrap  of  iron 
and  a  little  deal  of  silver,  as  a  silver  penny  or  a 
florin,  from  out  of  his  hoard,  and  would  fashion 
it  into  an  ouch  or  chain  or  arm-ring,  so  quaintly 
and  finely  that  it  was  a  joy  to  look  on  it.  And 
every  one  of  these  good  things  would  Stephen 
give  to  Osberne  with  a  friendly  grin,  and  Osberne 
took  them  with  a  joyful  heart  because  now  he 
had  a  new  thing  to  give  to  Eifhild,  and  each  one 
he  shot  across  the  river  unto  her  the  soonest  that 
he  might.  But  whiles,  when  his  heart  was  full, 
Osberne  would  say  to  the  smith  :  Thou  givest 
me  so  much,  and  doest  so  well  by  me,  that  I 
know  not  how  ever  I  am  to  make  it  good  to 
thee.  And  Stephen  would  say  :  Fear  not,  master, 
the  time  will  come  when  thou  mayst  do  such 
good  to  me  as  shall  pay  for  all  at  once. 

Now  befell  tidings  on  a  day  of  the  beginning 
of  October ;  for  the  wind,  which  had  been  high 
and  blustering  all  day,  grew  greater  and  greater 
by  then  candles  were  lighted  in  the  hall,  till  it 
was  blowing  a  great  gale  from  the  south-west, 
which  seemed  like  to  lift  the  house-roof.     Then 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  67 

befell  a  knocking  on  the  house-door,  and  Stephen 
went  thereto  and  opened  it,  and  came  back  with 
a  man  all  dripping  and  tousled  with  the  storm. 
He  was  a  tall  man,  yellow-haired,  and  goodly 
both  of  face  and  body,  but  his  face  much  hidden 
with  a  beard  untrimmed  ;  and  he  was  clad  in  rags 
which  scarce  held  together,  and  never  a  shoe  had 
he  to  his  foot.  Yet  was  he  bold  and  free  of  mien 
despite  his  poor  attire.  He  carried  some  long 
thing  under  his  arm  wrapped  up  in  cloth,  which 
was  bound  about  with  twine,  and  sealed  every 
here  and  there  with  yellow  wax. 

The  goodman  started  up  when  he  came  in, 
and  made  as  if  he  would  have  the  newcomer  put 
out,  and  he  muttered :  We  keep  no  house  for 
the  harbouring  of  runagates.  Yet  he  looked  at 
Osberne  withal,  for  he  was  now  grown  so  master- 
ful that  nought  was  done  in  the  house  without 
him  ;  and  the  lad  stood  up  straightway  and  came 
to  the  newcomer  and  bade  him  welcome  from  out 
the  storm.  Then  he  took  him  by  the  hand  and 
led  him  up  to  the  hearth,  and  spake  to  his  gran- 
dame  :  Goodwife,  this  our  guest  has  been  in  rough 
weather  without,  and  ere  he  sits  down  to  meat 
with  us,  it  were  well  to  take  him  into  the  inner 
chamber  and  wash  his  feet,  and  find  him  dry  rai- 
ment. The  goodwife  looked  kindly  on  the  guest 
and  bade  him  come  with  her,  and  he  went ;  but 
ere  his  back  was  turned  Osberne  looked  on  him 
and  caught  a  glance  of  his  eye,  and  therewith  he 
was  sure  that,  despite  his  rags  and  wretchedness, 
this  was   his    friend    Steelhead.      In    a    while    he 


68  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

came  back  into  the  hall,  clad  and  shod  as  well  as 
might  be  done  in  a  hurry,  and  Osberne  led  him 
into  his  own  seat  at  the  board,  and  gave  him  to 
drink ;  and  Stephen  withal  served  him  with  all 
care,  so  that  he  was  in  an  hospitable  house,  save 
that  the  goodman  cast  somewhat  grudging  glances 
on  him,  but  whereas  he  might  not  gainsay  all  the 
rest  of  his  household,  there  was  little  scathe 
therein. 

But  when  the  guest  sat  down,  he  took  that 
long  bundle  and  gave  it  into  Osberne's  hands, 
and  said :  Thou  art  so  friendly  to  a  gangrel  man, 
that  I  make  bold  to  ask  this  grace  of  thee  also,  to 
wit,  that  thou  wilt  heed  this  bundle,  and  let  none 
other  touch  it,  and  give  it  back  to  me  to-morrow 
morning  ere  I  depart.  Osberne  yea-said  to  that, 
and  took  the  bundle  and  laid  it  at  his  bed-head. 
And  therewith  the  meat  was  brought  in,  and  the 
meal  was  merry  ;  for  now  the  guest  seemed  so 
noble-looking  a  man  and  so  cheerful  of  counte- 
nance, and  so  debonair,  that  none  save  the  good- 
man  thought  any  longer  of  his  rags  wherewith  he 
had  come  into  the  hall  out  of  the  storm.  But 
even  the  goodman  was  better  with  him  presently, 
when  he  saw  that,  though  he  ate  and  drank  like 
a  tall  man,  he  needed  no  such  abundance  for  the 
filling  of  his  maw  as  did  Stephen. 

Ere  they  began  drinking  the  guest  said  :  I  may 
as  well  tell  you  folks  my  name,  since  ye  are  so 
g6od  to  me,  and  have  not  asked  for  it,  and  ye 
must  know  that  I  am  called  Waywearer,  and  that 
I  wish  increase  of  good  unto  this  house.     Then 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  69 

the  cup  went  round,  and  they  drank  late  into  the 
night ;  and  when  they  had  drunk  the  voidee  cup, 
Osberne  led  the  newcomer  to  the  guest-chamber, 
and  kissed  him  with  good-night,  but  made  no 
show  of  knowing  who  he  was. 


CHAPTER   XIII.      STEELHEAD    GIVES 
OSBERNE  THE  SWORD  BOARD- 
CLEAVER. 

WHEN  morning  was,  the  guest  came  into 
the  hall  and  found  the  household  there, 
and  he  spake  to  the  goodwife  and  said  : 
Dame,  I  would  have  done  off  this  raiment  which 
ye  lent  me  last  night  and  done  on  mine,  and  left 
thine  lying  there,  but  mine  I  might  not  find.  Nor 
thou  nor  anyone  else,  she  said,  shall  find  thy  rags 
any  more,  good  guest,  unless  they  come  to  life 
when  thou  risest  from  the  dead  on  the  day  of 
doom ;  for  I  have  peaceably  burned  them  in  the 
garth  this  hour  ago.  God  help  us  if  the  stead  of 
Wethermel  cannot  spare  a  yard  or  two  of  home- 
spun to  a  guest  who  cometh  in  stripped  by  the 
storm.  The  guest  nodded  kindly  to  her ;  but 
Osberne  said :  Which  way  ridest  thou  this  morn- 
ing, guest,  for  I  would  fain  lead  thee  a  little  way  ^ 
I  wend  south  from  thy  door,  fair  master,  said  the 
newcomer ;  but  as  to  riding,  't  is  Shanks'  mare 
must  be  my  way-beast,  unless  I  go  stealing  a  horse. 
There  is  no  need  for  that,  said  Osberne,  we  can 
find  thee  a  good  horse,  and  if  thou  bringest  him 
not  back  it  will  be  no  loss  to  us,  as  the  less  hay- 
need  we  shall  have  through  winter.  Stephen,  go 
thou  and  see  to  it  that  the  horses  be  ready  sad- 
dled and  bridled  when  we  have  eaten  a  morsel. 
The  guest  laughed  and  looked  to  the  carle-mas- 
ter, and  said :  How  sayest  thou,  goodman,  is  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  71 

gift  given  ?  The  carle  smiled  somewhat  ruefully, 
and  said :  The  gift  is  given ;  and  soothly  it  is  for 
the  youngling  to  give  since  all  will  come  to  him, 
be  it  more  or  less.  I  will  take  it  then,  said  the 
guest,  since  good  will  goeth  with  it ;  but  look  to 
it,  goodman,  if  I  reward  thee  not  therefor,  for  as 
ragged  as  I  came  into  thine  house. 

Now  therewith  they  break  their  fast ;  and  the 
last  night's  wind  has  fallen  utterly,  and  the  sky  is 
blue  and  the  sun  bright,  and  it  is  warm  for  that 
season.  Then  Osberne  gives  the  sealed  bundle 
to  Waywearer,  and  he  took  it  and  did  it  on  to  his 
saddle-bow,  and  he  mounts,  and  Osberne  also, 
who  is  dight  in  his  fair-dyed  raiment ;  and  they 
set  out  up  the  Dale,  and  ride  swiftly,  and  are  few- 
spoken  together.  So  they  rode  till  they  were 
past  the  last  house,  the  cot  to  wit  above  told  of, 
and  then  they  came  into  a  fair  little  clough  with 
a  bright  stream  running  through  it  toward  the 
Sundering  Flood ;  and  there  were  bushes  and 
small  wood  up  and  down  the  clough,  and  there 
Waywearer,  that  is  to  say,  Steelhead,  drew  rein, 
and  said  to  Osberne :  Meseems  this  is  as  far  as 
thou  needest  lead  me  out,  lad,  so  let  us  off  horse 
and  go  down  and  sit  by  the  brook. 

So  they  did,  and  tied  their  horses  to  a  thorn-bush 
growing  thereby  ;  and  Waywearer  took  the  bun- 
dle off  his  horse  and  said  to  Osberne  :  Hast  thou 
any  guess  at  what  this  good  thing  is  ?  Osberne 
reddened  and  said  :  That  is  the  sword  which  thou 
didst  promise  me  last  spring.  Waywearer  laughed 
and  said :  Sharp   are  thine    eyes   to   see  a  sword 


72  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

through  all  this  wrappage  of  cerecloth ;  surely 
they  be  of  the  warrior  kin.  But  sooth  hast  thou 
said;  this  is  thy  sword.  And  therewith  he  fell 
to  undoing  the  cloth,  while  the  boy  looked  on 
eagerly.  At  last  the  hilts  and  the  sheath  showed 
naked  :  the  pommel  and  cross  were  of  gold  of 
beauteous  and  wonderful  fashion,  such  as  no  smith 
may  work  now,  and  the  grip  was  wrapped  about 
with  golden  wire.  And  the  sheath  wherein  lay 
the  deadly  white  edges  was  of  brown  leather  of 
oxhide,  studded  about  with  knops  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  the  peace-strings  were  of  scarlet  silk 
with  golden  acorns  at  the  ends.  Said  Osberne : 
O  thou  art  kind  to  have  brought  this  for  me: 
and  may  I  handle  it  now  and  at  once  ?  Yea, 
said  Steelhead  smiling ;  but  beware,  beware  !  for 
he  saw  the  lad  lay  his  hand  to  the  peace-strings  ; 
do  not  away  the  peace-strings,  lest  thou  be  tempted 
to  draw  forth  the  blade.  For  this  sword  is  hight 
Board-cleaver,  and  was  fashioned  by  the  fathers 
of  long  ago  ;  and  so  wise  is  he  and  so  eager,  that 
whensoever  he  cometh  forth  from  the  sheath  he 
will  not  go  back  again  till  he  hath  had  a  life.  So 
beware  ever,  for  mickle  scathe  shall  come  of  it  if 
he  see  the  heavens  and  the  earth  for  light  cause. 
Somewhat  daunted  was  the  bold  lad  ;  but  he  said  : 
Tell  me,  thou  bright  lord,  at  what  times  I  shall 
draw  forth  Board-cleaver.  Said  Steelhead  :  Only 
then  when  thou  hast  the  foe  before  thee ;  then  draw 
and  be  of  good  courage,  for  never  shall  point  and 
edge  be  dulled  by  the  eye-shot  of  the  wicked  and 
wizards,  as  whiles  it  befalls  the  common  blades  of 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  73 

to-day.  For  a  man  of  might  hath  breathed  on  the 
edges  amidst  much  craft  of  spells,  so  that  nought 
may  master  that  blade,  save  one  of  its  brethren 
fashioned  by  the  same  hands,  if  such  there  be  yet 
upon  the  earth,  whereof  I  misdoubt  me.  Now 
then  thou  hast  the  sword ;  but  I  lay  this  upon 
thee  therewith,  that  thou  be  no  brawler  nor  make- 
bate,  and  that  thou  draw  not  Board-cleaver  in 
any  false  quarrel,  or  in  behalf  of  any  tyrant  or 
evil-doer,  or  else  shall  thy  luck  fail  thee  despite 
the  blade  that  lieth  hidden  there.  But  meseem- 
eth  nought  shalt  thou  be  of  the  kind  of  these 
wrong-doers.  And  I  say  of  thee  that  thou  didst 
well  with  me  last  night ;  for  though  thou  knewest 
me  presently,  and  that  I  was  not  without  might, 
yet  at  first,  when  thou  tookest  me  by  the  hand 
and  leddest  me  to  the  fire  before  all  the  house, 
thou  knewest  me  not,  and  I  was  to  thee  but  the 
ragged  gangrel  body  whom  thy  grandsire  would 
have  thrust  forth  into  the  storm  a^ain  ;  but  thou 

CD  ' 

didst  to  me  no  worse  than  if  I  had  been  lord  and 
earl. 

Now  it  is  to  be  told,  that  when  Osberne  heard 
these  words  then  first  he  knew  what  praise  was, 
and  the  heart  glowed  within  him,  and  valiancy 
grew  up  therein,  and  his  face  was  bright  and  his 
eyes  glistened  with  tears ;  and  he  spake  no  word 
aloud,  but  he  swore  to  himself  that  he  would  be 
no  worse  than  his  friend  Steelhead  would  have 
him  to  be. 

Then  he  took  the  sword  and  girt  it  to  him  ; 
and  he  said :   Master,  this  is  no  long  sword,  but  it 


74  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

is  great  and  heavy,  and  meseemeth  my  bairn's 
might  may  never  wield  it.  Shall  I  not  lay  it  by 
till  1  become  a  man  ?  That  shall  be  seen  to,  fair 
youngling,  said  Steelhead.  In  an  hour  thou  shalt 
have  might  enough  to  wield  Board-cleaver,  though 
doubtless  thy  might  shall  be  eked  year  by  year 
and  month  by  month  thereafter. 


CHAPTER  XIV.      STEELHEAD   TAKES 
LEAVE   OF   OSBERNE. 

NOW  by  then  it  was  high  noon,  and  the  sun 
very  hot,  and  as  they  lay  on  the  grass 
after  this  converse  the  lad  looked  on  the 
water ;  and  he  was  besweated,  and  longed  for  the 
bright  pools  of  the  stream  after  the  manner  of 
boys ;  and  he  said  at  last :  I  were  fain  to  take  to 
the  water  this  hot  noon,  if  it  please  thee.  It  is 
well  thought  of,  lad,  said  Steelhead,  and  that  the 
more,  as  I  must  needs  see  thee  naked  if  I  am  to 
strengthen  thee  as  I  am  minded  to  do.  So  they 
did  off  their  raiment,  both  of  them,  and  went  into 
the  biggest  of  the  pools  hard  by  ;  and  if  Steelhead 
were  a  noble-looking  man  clad,  far  nobler  was  he 
to  look  on  naked,  for  he  was  both  big  and  well 
shapen,  so  that  better  might  not  be.  As  for  Os- 
berne,  there  looked  but  little  of  him  when  he  was 
unclad,  as  is  the  fashion  of  lads  to  be  lank,  yet  for 
his  age  he  was  full  well  shapen.  So  Steelhead 
came  out  of  the  water  presently,  and  clad  himself, 
while  Osberne  yet  played  awhile.  Then  Steel- 
head called  the  lad  to  him,  all  naked  as  he  was, 
and  said :  Stand  thou  before  me,  youngling,  and 
I  will  give  thee  a  gift  which  shall  go  well  with 
Board-cleaver.  And  the  lad  stood  still  before  him, 
and  Steelhead  laid  his  hands  on  the  head  of  him 
first,  and  let  them  abide  there  awhile ;  then  he 
passed  his  hands  over  the  shoulders  and  arms  of 
the  boy,  and  his  legs  and  thighs  and  breast,  and 


76  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

all  over  his  body ;  and  therewith  he  said :  In  our 
days  and  the  olden  time  it  was  the  wont  of  fathers 
to  bless  their  children  in  this  wise ,  but  for  thee, 
thy  father  is  dead,  and  thy  nighest  kinsman  is 
little-hearted  and  somewhat  of  a  churl.  Thus 
then  have  I  done  to  thee  to  take  the  place  of  a 
father  to  thee,  I  who  am  of  the  warriors  of  while 
agone.  And  I  think  it  will  avail  thee ;  and  it  is 
borne  in  upon  me  that  before  very  long  thou  wilt 
need  this  avail,  if  thou  art  to  live  and  do  the  deeds 
I  would  have  thee.  Now  it  is  done,  so  cover  thee 
in  thy  raiment  and  rest  awhile ;  and  then  I  will 
depart  and  leave  thee  to  the  might  which  I  have 
given  thee,  and  the  valiance  which  hath  grown  up 
in  thine  heart. 

So  they  lay  down  on  the  greensward  and  rested  ; 
and  Osberne  had  fetched  along  with  him  cakes  and 
cheese,  and  a  keg  of  good  drink,  and  they  took 
their  bever  there  in  all  content.  But  for  that  time 
Steelhead  spake  no  more  of  his  folk  and  the  old 
days,  but  about  the  fowl  and  fish  and  other  wild 
things  that  haunted  that  clough,  and  of  shooting 
in  the  bow  and  so  forth.  Then  they  arose  and 
went  to  their  horses,  and  Steelhead  said  to  Os- 
berne :  How  is  it  with  the  might  of  thy  body,  lad  ? 
Canst  thou  do  better  in  wrestling  of  Board-cleaver? 
So  the  youngling  stretched  himself,  and  took  the 
sword  by  the  hilts  and  shook  it  and  waved  it  about, 
and  tossed  it  in  the  air  and  caught  it  again,  and 
said:  Seest  thou,  master?  Meseems  my  might 
is  so  much  eked,  that  I  deem  I  could  swim  the 
stream  of  the  Sunderins:  Flood  and  overcome  it. 


THE    SUNDERING    FLOOD  77 

Quoth  the  hillman,  laughing :  Yea,  and  we  know 
that  that  would  please  thee  well ;  but  let  it  be,  my 
son,  I  bid  thee ;  for  no  race  of  folk  who  have 
dwelt  in  the  Dale  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
have  ever  won  across  the  Sundering  Flood.  So 
now  we  depart  for  this  present ;  but  as  for  this 
way-beast  I  ride,  thy  grandsire  shall  lose  nothing 
and  gain  much  by  him ;  for  I  took  him  but  to 
pleasure  thee,  and  I  shall  send  him  back  to  Wether- 
mel  ere  many  days  are  past.  Farewell,  my  son  ! 
So  he  kissed  the  youngling,  and  rode  away 
south  across  the  stream  and  over  the  other  side 
of  the  dough.  Osberne  stood  beside  his  horse, 
looking  after  him  and  the  way  he  had  taken,  and 
then  mounted  and  rode  his  way  homeward,  some- 
what downcast  at  first  for  the  missing  of  this  new 
father.  But  after  a  while,  what  for  his  new  gift 
and  his  freshly-gained  might,  and  the  pride  and 
pleasure  of  life,  he  became  all  joyous  again,  as 
though  the  earth  were  new  made  for  him. 


CHAPTER  XV.     SURLY  JOHN   BRINGS 
A   GUEST   TO   WETHERMEL. 

YE  may  well  think  that  the  very  next  time, 
which  indeed  was  on  the  morrow,  that 
Osberne  went  to  the  Bight  of  the  Cloven 
Knoll,  he  went  girt  with  Board-cleaver,  and  showed 
it  to  his  friend  ;  and  she  looked  somewhat  sober 
at  the  sight  of  it,  and  said :  I  pray  thee,  Osberne, 
draw  it  not  forth  from  the  sheath.  In  nowise  may 
I  draw  it,  said  he,  for  I  am  told  never  to  draw  it 
till  I  have  my  foe  before  me  ;  for  ever  it  will  have 
a  life  betwixt  the  coming  forth  from  the  sheath 
and  its  going  back  again.  I  fear  me,  she  said,  that 
thou  wilt  have  to  draw  it  often,  so  that  many  a 
tale  will  be  told  of  it,  and  perhaps  at  last  the  death 
of  thee.  And  therewith  she  put  her  hands  up  to 
her  face  and  wept.  But  he  comforted  her  with 
kind  words,  till  the  tears  were  gone.  Then  she 
looked  at  him  long  and  lovingly,  and  said  at  last : 
I  know  not  how  it  is,  but  thou  seemest  to  me 
changed  and  grown  less  like  a  child,  as  though 
some  new  might  had  come  to  thee.  Now  I  may 
not  ask  thee  who  has  done  this  to  thee,  and  given 
thee  the  sword,  for  if  thou  mightest  thou  wouldst 
have  told  me.  But  tell  me  this,  hast  thou  all  this 
from  a  friend  or  a  foe  ?  He  said  :  Dost  thou  in- 
deed see  that  I  am  grown  mightier?  Well,  it  is 
so ;  and  true  it  is  that  I  may  not  tell  thee  who  is 
the  giver ;  but  I  may  tell  thee  that  it  is  a  friend. 
But  art  thou   not  glad  of  my  gain  ?     She  smiled 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  79 

and  said :  I  should  be  glad,  and  would  be  if  I 
might ;  but  somehow  meseemeth  that  thou  grow- 
est  older  quicker  than  I  do,  and  that  it  is  ili  for 
me,  for  it  will  sunder  us  more  than  even  now  we 
be  sundered. 

And  again  he  had  to  comfort  her  with  sweet 
words;  and  he  shot  across  to  her  an  ouch  which 
Stephen  had  given  him  that  morning,  so  soon  she 
was  herself  again,  and  sat  and  told  him  a  tale  of 
old  times ;  and  they  parted  happily,  and  Osberne 
gat  him  home  to  Wethermel.  But  he  had  scarce 
been  at  home  a  minute  or  two  when  there  came 
one  riding  to  the  door,  a  young  man  scarlet-clad 
and  gay,  and  his  horse  was  dight  with  the  good- 
liest of  saddles  and  bridles,  and  the  bit  of  silver; 
but  for  all  that,  both  Osberne  and  Stephen,  who 
was  standing  in  the  door,  knew  the  horse  for  their 
own  nag,  on  whom  Waywearer  had  ridden  off  the 
yestermorn.  Now  the  lad  cries  out :  Is  this  the 
stead  of  Wethermel  ?  Yea,  said  Osberne ;  what 
wouldst  thou  ?  I  would  see  the  goodman,  says 
the  swain.  He  is  yet  afield,  said  Osberne,  but  if 
thou  wilt  come  in  and  have  the  bite  and  the  sup 
thou  mayst  abide  him,  for  he  will  not  be  long.  I 
may  not,  said  the  swain,  for  time  fails  me ;  so  I 
will  say  to  thee  what  I  was  to  say  to  him,  which 
is  no  long  spell,  to  wit  that  Waywearer  sendeth 
back  home  the  horse  the  goodman  lent  him,  and 
bids  him  keep  the  gear  on  him  in  his  memory. 
Therewith  is  he  off  the  horse  in  a  twinkling  and 
out  through  the  garth  gate,  and  away  so  swiftly 
that  they  lost  sight  of  him  in  a  moment.     Stephen 


8o  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

laughed  and  said  to  Osberne :  Waywearer  is  no- 
wise debt-tough;  now  will  our  goodman  be  glad 
to-night.  But  see  thou  !  look  to  the  nag's  shoes ! 
If  ever  I  saw  silver  to  know  it,  they  be  shod  there- 
with. And  so  it  was  as  he  said,  and  the  silver 
nigh  an  inch  thick. 

Soon  Cometh  home  the  goodman,  and  they  tell 
him  the  tidings,  and  he  grows  wondrous  glad, 
and  says  that  luck  has  come  to  Wethermel  at  last. 
But  thereafter  they  found  that  horse  much  bet- 
tered, so  that  he  was  the  best  nag  in  all  the  Weth- 
ermel pastures. 

Wear  the  days  now  till  it  is  the  beginning  of 
winter,  and  there  is  nought  new  to  tell  of,  till  on 
a  day  when  it  began  to  dusk,  and  all  the  house- 
hold were  gathered  in  the  hall,  one  knocked  at  the 
door,  and  when  Stephen  went  thereto,  who  should 
follow  him  in  save  Surly  John,  and  with  him 
a  stranger,  a  big  tall  man,  dark-haired  and  red- 
bearded,  wide-visaged,  brown-eyed  and  red-cheeked, 
blotch-faced  and  insolent  of  bearing ;  he  was  girt 
with  a  sword,  had  a  shield  at  his  back  and  bore  a 
spear  in  his  hand,  and  was  clad  in  a  long  byrny 
down  to  his  knees.  He  spake  at  once  in  a  loud 
voice,  ere  Surly  John  got  out  the  word:  May 
Hardcastle  be  here  to-night,  ye  folk  ?  The  good- 
man  quaked  at  the  look  and  the  voice  of  him, 
and  said :  Yea,  surely,  lord,  if  thou  wilt  have  it 
so.  But  Osberne  turned  his  head  over  his  shoul- 
der, for  his  back  was  toward  the  door,  and  said : 
Meat  and  drink  and  an  ingle  in  the  hall  are 
free  to  every  comer  to  this  house,  whether  he  be 


THE    SUNDERING   FLOOD  8 1 

earl  or  churl.  Hardcastle  scowled  on  the  lad,  and 
said :  I  am  neither  earl  nor  churl,  but  a  man  of 
mine  own  hand,  and  I  take  thy  bidding,  goodman, 
for  this  night,  but  as  to  thereafter  we  will  look  to 
it;  but  as  to  thy  younghng,  I  will  look  to  him  at 
once  and  teach  him  a  little  manners.  And  there- 
with he  went  up  to  Osberne  and  smote  him  a 
cheek-slap  from  behind.  Surly  John  laughed,  and 
made  a  mow  at  him,  and  said  :  Ho  !  young  wolf- 
slayer,  feelest  thou  that  ?  Now  is  come  the  end 
of  thy  mastery  !  But  neither  for  slap  nor  for  gibe 
did  Osberne  flinch  one  whit,  or  change  counte- 
nance. Then  Hardcastle  said :  Hah  !  is  that  the 
lad  who  slew  the  wolves  ye  ran  from,  John  .?  He 
will  be  a  useful  lad  about  the  house.  John  held 
his  peace  and  reddened  somewhat,  and  Hardcastle 
said:  Now  show  me  where  to  bestow  this  fight- 
ing gear  of  mine;  for  meseems  I  shall  not  want  it 
yet  awhile  in  this  meek  and  friendly  house.  Quoth 
Osberne  over  his  shoulder:  Things  boded  will 
happen,  and  also  things  unboded.  Hardcastle 
scowled  again,  but  this  time  smote  him  not,  for  he 
was  busy  doing  off  his  hauberk,  which  Stephen 
took  from  him  presently,  along  with  his  other 
armour  and  weapons,  and  hung  them  upon  the 
pins  at  the  other  end  of  the  hall.  Then  he  came 
back  and  stood  before  Hardcastle  as  if  waiting 
some  commandment,  but  the  warrior  said:  Who 
is  this  big  lubber  here,  and  what  is  his  name? 
What  does  the  fool  want?  Said  Stephen:  I  want 
to  serve  thee,  noble  sir,  and  my  name  is  Stephen 
the  Eater  ;  but  I  can  swallow  most  things  better 

6 


82  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

than  hard  words.  Hardcastle  lifted  up  his  right 
foot  to  kick  his  backside,  but  Stephen  deftly  thrust 
out  his  right  foot  and  gave  the  man  a  shove  on 
his  breast,  so  that  he  tripped  him  and  down  went 
Hardcastle  bundHng.  He  picked  himself  up  in 
a  mighty  rage,  and  would  have  fallen  on  Stephen  ; 
but  he  saw  that  the  Eater  had  a  broad  and  big  knife 
in  his  girdle,  so  he  forbore,  being  now  all  unarmed ; 
and  Stephen  said  :  Our  floor  is  somewhat  slippery 
for  dancing,  fair  sir.  But  therewith  arose  Osberne, 
and  came  before  the  guest,  and  louted  to  him  and 
said:  Noble  sir,  I  pray  thee  pardon  our  man  Ste- 
phen, for  thou  seest  how  clumsy  a  man  he  is,  and 
he  knoweth  not  where  to  bestow  his  long  legs  ;  he 
is  ever  in  every  one's  way.  And  as  he  spake  the 
smiles  were  all  over  his  face,  and  he  louted  low 
again.  Stephen  stared  astonished  at  him  and  drew 
back,  and  as  for  Hardcastle,  the  wrath  ran  off  him, 
and  he  looked  on  Osberne  and  said :  Nay,  thou 
art  not  so  unmannerly  a  lad  as  I  deemed ;  belike 
I  shall  yet  make  something  out  of  thee. 

Therewith  the  meat  was  borne  in,  and  they  all 
sat  to  table,  and  Hardcastle  was  well  at  ease;  and 
the  goodman,  if  he  were  not  quite  happy,  yet  made 
a  shift  to  seem  as  if  he  were.  The  guest  sat  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  goodman,  and  after  he  had 
eaten  awhile  he  said  :  Goodman,  thy  women  here 
have  doubtless  once  been  fair,  but  now  they  are 
somewhat  stricken  in  years.  Hast  thou  in  hiding 
somewhere,  or  belike  lying  out  in  the  field  or  at 
some  cot,  anything  prettier.''  something  with  sleek 
sides  and  round  arms  and  dainty  legs  and  feet? 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  83 

It  would  make  us  merrier,  and  belike  kinder,  if 
such  there  were. 

The  goodman  turned  pale,  and  stammered  out 
that  these  were  all  the  women  at  Wethermel ; 
and  John  cried  out:  It  is  even  as  I  told  thee, 
warrior.  Heed  it  not ;  there  be  fair  women  up 
and  down  the  Dale,  and  thou  shalt  have  one  or 
two  of  these  with  little  pains,  either  for  love  or 
for  fear.  Hardcastle  laughed  and  said :  Thou 
shalt  go  and  fetch  them  for  me.  Surly  John,  and 
see  which  shall  serve  thee  best,  love  or  fear.  All 
laughed  thereat,  for  they  well  knew  his  ill  temper 
and  his  cowardice,  and  he  turned  red  and  blue  for 
rage.  But  as  for  Osberne,  he  could  not  help 
thinking  of  the  pretty  maid  whose  hand  he  had 
held  at  the  Cloven  Mote  last  winter ;  and  he 
thought  that  if  Hardcastle  did  her  any  wrong. 
Board-cleaver  might  well  look  on  the  sun  in  her 
behalf 

A  little  after  Osberne  turns  to  John  and  sees 
his  knife  lying  on  the  board,  a  goodly  one,  well 
carven  on  the  heft.  So  he  says :  Thy  whittle 
seems  to  me  both  good  and  strange,  John,  reach 
it  into  my  hand.  John  did  so,  and  the  young- 
ling takes  hold  of  it  by  the  back  near  the  point 
with  his  thumb  and  finger,  and  twists  it  till  it  is 
like  a  ram's  horn.  Then  he  gives  it  back  to 
John  and  says  :  Thy  knife  is  now  stranger  than 
it  was,  John,  but  't  is  not  of  so  much  use  as  erst. 
All  marvelled  at  this  feat,  all  save  the  fool  Surly 
John,  who  raises  a  great  outcry  that  his  knife  is 
marred.      But    Hardcastle,   whose    head    is    now 


84  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

pretty  much  filled  with  drink,  cried  out :  Hold 
thy  peace,  John ;  doubtless  this  youngling  here 
hath  craft  enough  to  straighten  thy  whittle  even 
as  he  has  crooked  and  winded  it.  By  the  mass 
he  is  a  handy  smith,  and  will  be  of  much  avail  to 
me.  Osberne  reached  out  his  hand  for  the  knife, 
and  John  gave  it  to  him,  and  he  took  it  by  the 
point  as  aforetime,  and  lo,  in  a  moment  it  was 
once  more  straight  again,  so  to  say.  Then  he 
hands  it  back  to  John,  and  says  :  Let  our  man 
Stephen  lay  his  hammer  on  the  blade  to-morrow 
once  or  twice,  and  thy  knife  shall  be  as  good  as 
ever  it  was.  All  wondered,  but  Hardcastle  not 
much,  whereas  by  this  time  he  could  not  see  very 
straight  out  of  his  eyes.  So  he  bids  lead  him  to 
bed,  and  the  goodman  took  him  by  the  hand  and 
brought  him  to  the  guest-chamber,  and  himself 
lies  down  in  an  ingle  of  the  hall.  So  all  lay 
down,  and  there  was  rest  in  the  house  the  night 
long  ;  save  for  the  goodman,  who  slept  but  little, 
and  that  with  dreams  of  the  cutting  of  throats 
and  firing  of  roofs. 


CHAPTER   XVI.       HARDCASTLE 
WOULD    SEIZE   WETHERMEL. 

WHEN  it  was  morning,  and  folk  were 
afoot  in  the  house,  Hardcastle  lay- 
long  abed ;  but  when  the  first  meal 
was  on  the  board,  and  they  were  gathered  in  hall, 
he  came  thereto,  and  sat  down  and  ate  without 
a  word,  and  was  by  seeming  as  surly  as  John. 
But  when  the  boards  were  taken  up,  and  the 
women  at  least,  though  not  the  others  I  deem, 
were  looking  that  he  should  call  for  his  horses 
and  depart,  he  leaned  back  in  his  high-seat  and 
spake  slowly  and  lazily  :  This  stead  of  Wether- 
mel  is  much  to  my  mind ;  it  is  a  plenteous  house 
and  good  land,  and  more  plenteous  it  might  be 
made  were  I  to  cast  a  dyke  and  a  wall  round 
about,  and  have  in  here  a  sort  of  good  fellows 
who  should  do  my  bidding,  so  that  we  might 
help  ourselves  to  what  we  lacked  where  plenty 
was  to  be  had.  I  will  think  of  this  hereafter,  but 
at  this  present,  and  till  winter  is  done  and  spring 
is  come,  I  will  say  no  more  of  that.  And  to  you 
folk,  even  to  the  big  lubber  yonder,  I  will  say 
this,  that  ye,  women  and  all,  shall  be  free  of  meat 
and  drink  and  bed  if  ye  will  but  be  brisk  about 
doing  my  will,  and  serve  me  featly;  but  if  not, 
then  shall  ye  pack  and  be  off,  and  have  no  worse 
harm  of  me.  Have  ye  heard,  and  will  ye  obey? 
The  women  were  pale  and  trembled,  and  the 
goodman  quaked  exceedingly,  while  Surly  John 


86  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

stood  by  grinning.  Osberne  smiled  pleasantly 
but  spake  not.  He  was  girt  with  the  sword 
Board-cleaver  and  clad  in  scarlet.  As  for  Ste- 
phen, he  stood  before  Hardcastle  with  a  face 
seeming  solemn,  save  that  he  squinted  fearfully, 
looking  all  down  along  his  long  nose. 

Now  came  the  goodman  forth  and  knelt  before 
the  ruffler,  and  said :  Lord,  we  will  even  do  thy 
will :  but  mightest  thou  tell  us  where  ye  got 
licence  and  title  to  take  all  our  wealth  from  us 
and  make  us  thy  thralls  ?  The  warrior  laughed  : 
It  is  fairly  asked,  goodman,  and  I  will  not  spare 
to  show  thee  my  title.  Therewith  he  drew  forth 
his  sword,  a  great  and  heavy  blade,  and  cast  it 
rattling  on  the  board  before  him,  and  said  :  There 
is  my  title,  goodman  ;  wilt  thou  ask  a  better  ? 
The  goodman  groaned  and  said :  At  least,  lord, 
I  pray  thee  take  not  all  I  have,  but  leave  me 
some  little  whereby  to  live,  and  thereof  I  will 
pay  somewhat  year  by  year,  if  the  seasons  be 
good. 

My  friend,  quoth  Hardcastle,  by  the  title  that 
lieth  yonder  I  have  gotten  thy  wealth,  and  every 
jot  of  it  might  I  keep  if  I  would.  But  see  how 
kind  I  am  to  thee  and  thine.  For  have  I  not 
told  you  that  ye  shall  live  in  this  house,  and  eat 
the  sweet  and  drink  the  strong  and  lie  warm 
a-nights,  so  long  as  ye  do  my  will.  Yea,  said 
the  goodman,  but  we  must  needs  toil  as  thralls. 
Great  fool,  said  Hardcastle,  what  matters  that  to 
thee  ?  It  is  like  thou  shalt  work  no  harder  than 
erst,  or  no  harder  than  may  be  enough  to  keep 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  87 

me  as  thy  guest.  Nay,  goodman,  wilt  thou  turn 
me  from  thy  door  and  deny  me  guesting?  What 
sayest  thou  to  that,  Fiddle-bow,  my  sharp  dear? 
said  he,  handling  his  sword.  Now  the  goodman 
crept  away,  and  Surly  John  says  that  he  wept. 

But  Osberne  came  forward  as  smiling  and 
debonair  as  erst,  and  he  said  :  Fair  sir,  one  thing 
I  crave  of  thee  to  tell  me,  to  wit,  is  there  no 
other  way  out  of  this  thraldom,  for  well  thou 
wottest  that  no  man  would  be  a  thrall  might  he 
help  it  ?  Well,  my  lad,  quoth  the  warrior  smil- 
ing, for  now  after  his  talk,  with  the  goodman  he 
was  in  better  humour,  when  thou  growest  older 
thou  wilt  find  that  saw  of  thine  belied  many-wise, 
and  that  many  there  be  who  are  not  loth  to  be 
thralls.  But  as  to  what  way  there  may  be  out  of 
this  thraldom,  I  will  tell  thee  the  way,  as  I  was 
about  to  do  with  the  goodman ;  though  whereas 
he  is  but  little-hearted,  and  there  is  none  else 
fight-worthy  in  the  house,  save  it  were  this  lubber 
in  front  .  .  .  Well  thou,  why  art  thou  skelly- 
ing,  man,  as  if  thou  wouldst  cast  the  eyes  out 
of  thine  head  on  either  side  ?  Quoth  Stephen  : 
I  was  grown  so  afraid  of  thee,  fair  sir,  that  I 
wotted  not  where  to  look,  so  I  thought  my  eyes 
would  do  me  least  harm  if  they  looked  down 
along  my  nose.  Quoth  Hardcastle :  I  begin  to 
see  how  it  will  go  with  thee,  great  lout,  that  in 
the  first  days  of  my  mastership  thine  hide  shall 
pay  for  thy  folly.  Stephen  squinted  none  the 
less,  but  his  whittle  was  yet  in  his  belt.  Now 
Hardcastle  went   on  speaking  to    Osberne,  and 


88  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

said :  Well  now,  I  will  tell  thee  the  way  out  of 
this  thraldom,  as  thou  wilt  call  it ;  and  the  more 
to  thee,  bairn,  because  thou  wilt  become  my  man 
and  wilt  be  bold  and  deft,  I  doubt  not ;  therefore 
thou  shouldst  learn  early  the  fashions  of  great 
and  bold  men.  Hearken  !  ever  when  I  offer  to 
some  man  a  lot  that  seemeth  hard  unto  him,  then 
I  bid  him,  if  it  likes  him  not,  to  pitch  me  the 
hazelled  field  hard  by  his  house,  and  we  to  go 
thereinto  and  see  what  point  and  edge  may  say 
to  it ;  and  if  he  slay  me  or  hurt  me  so  much  that 
I  must  be  borne  off  the  field  within  the  four 
corners,  then  is  he  quit,  and  hath  his  land  again, 
and  hath  gained  mickle  glory  of  my  body. 
Moreover  if  he  may  not  fight  himself,  yet  will  I 
meet  any  champion  that  he  may  choose  to  do 
battle  with  me.  Now  this  is  a  good  and  noble 
custom  of  the  bold,  and  hath  been  deemed  so 
from  time  long  agone.  And  indeed  I  deem  pity 
of  it  that  here  to-day  the  goodman  may  not  fight 
nor  hath  found  any  champion  to  fight  for  him. 
But  three  days  first  will  I  give  him  to  find  such 
a  champion,  .  .  .  Thou  wretch,  said  he  to 
Stephen,  why  wilt  thou  still  skelly  at  me  ?  Be- 
cause the  champion  is  found,  said  Stephen. 

Hardcastle  snorted  and  his  beard  bristled,  but 
forth  stood  Osberne,  and  he  still  smiling  ;  and 
he  said  :  Thou  warrior,  three  things  I  offer  thee 
to  choose  from,  and  the  first  is  that  thou  depart 
hence,  thou  and  thy  man ;  because  thou  hast  not 
dealt  with  us  as  a  guest  should,  but  hast  smitten 
me  and  threatened  all  of  us,  and  brazened  out  thy 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  89 

wrong-doing.  This  is  the  best  way  out  of  thy 
folly  ;  what  sayest  thou  to  it  ?  But  such  fury  was 
in  the  ruffler's  heart  now,  that  he  had  no  words  for 
it,  but  rolled  about  in  the  high-seat  snorting  and 
blowing.  Said  Osberne  :  I  see  thou  wilt  not  take 
this  way,  and  that  is  the  worse  for  thee.  Now 
the  next  is  that  we  hazel  a  field  and  fight  therein. 
Wilt  thou  have  this  ?  The  champion  roared  out : 
Yea,  that  will  I  !  but  in  such  wise  that  thou  take 
sword  and  shield  and  I  a  bunch  of  birch  twigs  ; 
and  if  I  catch  thee  not  and  unbreech  thee  and  whip 
thee  as  a  grammar  master  his  scholar,  then  will  I 
lay  down  sword  and  shield  for  ever. 

Said  Osberne  coldly  :  Thou  seest  not  that  I  am 
girt  with  a  sword,  and  I  tell  thee  it  is  a  good  one. 
Or  wilt  thou  take  Surly  John's  knife  this  morn- 
ing and  do  as  I  did  with  it  last  night  ?  And  I 
did  it  for  a  warning  to  thee,  but  belike  thou  wert 
drunk  and  noted  it  not. 

Hardcastle's  face  fell  somewhat,  for  now  he  did 
remember  the  feat  of  the  knife.  But  Osberne 
spake  again  :  I  ask  thee,  warrior,  wilt  thou  enter 
the  field  that  I  shall  hazel  for  thee  ?  Quoth  the 
ruffler,  but  in  a  lower  voice  :  I  cannot  fight  with 
a  boy  ;  whether  I  slay  him  or  am  slain  I  am 
shamed. 

Spake  Osberne  :  Then  depart  from  the  house 
with  as  little  shame  as  a  ruffler  and  a  churl  may 
have.  But  if  thou  wilt  neither  of  these  things, 
then  will  it  befall  that  I  shall  draw  my  blade  and 
fall  on  thee  to  slay  thee,  and  make  the  most  of  it 
that  here  stands  by  me  my  man  Stephen,  a  true 


90  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  fearless  carle,  with  his  whittle  bare  in  his  hand. 
And  this  I  may  well  do,  whereas,  by  thine  own 
telling,  thou  art  not  in  our  house  but  in  thine  own. 

Hardcastle  lifted  up  his  head,  for  he  had  hung 
it  down  awhile,  and  said  in  a  hoarse  voice  :  Hazel 
the  field  for  me  then,  and  I  will  go  therein  with 
thee  and  slay  thee.  That  may  well  be,  said  Os- 
berne,  yet  it  may  not  be.  Then  he  bade  Stephen 
to  go  hazel  the  field  in  the  flat  meadows  toward 
the  river:  and  therewith  he  bethought  him  of  his 
friend  on  the  further  side  of  the  water,  and  how  it 
might  well  be  that  he  should  never  see  her  again, 
but  lie  slain  on  the  meadow  of  Wethermel ;  and 
he  wondered  if  tidings  of  the  battle  would  go 
across  the  water  and  come  unto  her.  But  amidst 
his  musings  the  harsh  voice  of  Hardcastle  reached 
his  ears.  He  turned  round  with  a  start  and  heard 
how  the  ruffler  said  to  him  :  Let  me  see  the  sword, 
lad,  wherewith  thou  wilt  fight  me.  Osberne  took 
the  sheathed  blade  from  his  girdle  and  handed  it 
to  Hardcasde  without  a  word,  and  the  warrior 
fell  at  once  to  handling  the  peace-strings  ;  but 
Osberne  cried  out :  Nay,  warrior,  meddle  not  with 
the  peace-strings,  for  who  knoweth  what  scathe 
may  come  of  the  baring  of  the  blade  within  doors  ? 
Well,  well,  said  Hardcastle,  but  the  blade  must 
out  presently,  and  what  harm  if  it  be  now  ?  Yet 
he  took  his  hand  from  the  weapon,  and  laid  it  on 
the  board  before  him. 

Osberne  looked  about  him  and  saw  that  they 
two  were  alone  in  the  hall  now,  for  the  others  had 
gone  down  to  look  on  the  hazelling.     So  he  spake 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  91 

quietly  and  said :  Warrior,  is  it  not  so,  that  thou 
hast  in  thine  heart  some  foreboding  of  what  shall 
befall  ?  Hardcastle  answered  nought,  and  Os- 
berne  went  on  :  I  see  that  so  it  is,  and  meseems 
it  were  better  for  thee  if  this  battle  were  unfought. 
Lo  now,  shall  we  not  make  peace  in  such  wise  that 
thou  abide  here  this  day  in  all  honour  holden, 
and  in  honour  depart  to-morrow  morn,  led  out 
with  such  good  gifts  as  shall  please  thee  ?  Thus 
shalt  thou  have  no  shame,  and  everything  un- 
toward betwixt  us  shall  be  forgotten.  Hardcastle 
shook  his  head  and  said  :  Nay,  lad,  nay,  the  tale 
would  get  about,  and  shame  would  presently  be 
on  the  wing  towards  me.  We  must  stand  with- 
in the  hazel-garth  against  each  other.  Then  he 
spake  again,  and  a  somewhat  grim  smile  was  on 
his  face  :  Awhile  agone  thou  didst  threaten  to  slay 
me  with  the  help  of  yonder  squinting  loon,  but 
now  thou  standest  unarmed  before  me,  and  I  have 
thy  sword  under  my  hand.  Hast  thou  no  fear  of 
what  I  may  do  to  thee,  since  so  it  is  that  fore- 
bodings weigh  on  mine  heart  ?  Nay,  I  am  not 
afraid,  said  Osberne ;  thou  mayest  be  a  bad  man, 
yet  not  so  bad  as  that. 

Sooth  it  is,  said  Hardcastle  ;  but  I  say  again, 
thou  art  a  valiant  lad.  Lo  now,  take  thy  sword 
again ;  but  tell  me,  what  armour  of  defence  hast 
thou  for  this  battle  ?  Nought  save  my  shield, 
said  Osberne  ;  there  is  a  rusty  steel  hood  stands 
yonder  on  the  wall,  but  no  byrny  have  we  in  the 
house.  Said  Hardcasde :  Well,  I  may  do  so 
much  as  this  for  thee,  I  will  leave  all  my  defences 


92  THE   SUNDERING  FLOOD 

here  and  go  down  to  the  hazels  with  nought  but 
my  sword  in  my  fist,  and  thou  shalt  have  the 
shield  ;  but  I  warn  thee  that  Fiddle-bow  is  a  good 
blade. 

Said  Osberne,  and  smiled :  Well  I  wot  that,  if 
thou  get  in  but  one  downright  stroke  on  me,  little 
shall  my  shield  avail  me  against  Fiddle-bow.  Yet 
I  take  thine  offer  and  thank  thee  for  it.  But  this 
forthinketh  me,  that  if  thou  live  out  this  day  thou 
wilt  still  betake  thee  to  the  same  insolency  and 
greediness  and  wrong-doing  as  thou  hast  shown 
yesterday  and  this  morning. 

Hardcastle  laughed  roughly  and  said :  Well, 
lad,  I  deem  thou  art  right ;  wherefore  slay  me 
hardily  if  thou  mayest,  and  rid  the  world  of  me. 
Yet  hearken,  of  all  my  deeds  I  have  no  shame 
at  all ;  though  folk  say  some  of  them  were  ugly 
...  let  it  be. 

Therewith  came  Stephen  into  the  hall,  and  he 
did  them  to  wit  that  the  hazels  were  pitched,  and 
now  he  squinted  no  more. 


CHAPTER  XVII.    OSBERNE  SLAYETH 
HARDCASTLE. 

SO  they  three  went  down  together  into  the 
meadow,  and  there  stood  the  others  by  the 
hazel-garth  :  the  goodman  cowering  and 
abject,  Surly  John  pale  and  anxious,  and  the  two 
women  clinging  together  in  sore  sorrow,  the 
grandame  weeping  sorely.  But  as  they  passed 
close  by  these  last,  Stephen  touched  the  gran- 
dame and  said  to  her  :  Sawest  thou  ever  King 
David  the  little  ?  Nay,  she  said  sobbing.  Look 
thou  into  the  hazel-garth  presently  then,  said  he, 
and  thou  shalt  see  him  with  eye. 

So  now  they  two  stood  in  the  hazelled  field ; 
it  was  two  hours  before  noon ;  the  sky  was  over- 
cast with  a  promise  of  the  first  snow  of  winter, 
but  as  yet  none  had  fallen,  and  the  field  was  dry 
and  hard.  Now  Hardcastle  has  Fiddle-bow  bare 
in  his  fist,  but  Osberne  takes  Board-cleaver  from 
his  girdle  and  unwinds  the  peace-strings  ;  then  he 
stands  still  for  a  moment  and  looks  toward  his 
foeman,  who  cries  out  at  him  :  Haste  thee,  lad, 
I  were  fain  done  with  it.  Then  Osberne  draws 
forth  the  blade,  and  it  made  a  gleam  of  white  in  the 
grey  day,  and  as  the  folk  say  who  stood  thereby, 
as  Board-cleaver  came  forth  bare  there  came  a 
great  humming  sound  all  about.  Then  Osberne 
gets  his  shield  on  his  arm,  and  cries  out :  Now 
thou  warrior  !  and  straightway  Hardcastle  comes 
leaping  toward  him  ;  and  Osberne  abode  him  as 


94  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

he  came  on  with  uplifted  sword,  leapt  lightly  to 
one  side,  and  thrust  forth  Board-cleaver  and 
touched  his  side,  so  that  all  could  see  the  blade 
had  drunk  a  little  blood.  Fiercely  and  fast  turned 
Hardcastle  about  on  the  lad,  but  therewith  was 
he  within  the  ruffler's  stroke,  and  Board-cleaver's 
point  was  steady  before  Osberne's  breast  and  met 
Hardcastle's  side,  and  made  a  great  wound  with 
the  point,  and  the  warrior  staggered  back,  and  his 
sword-point  was  lowered.  Then  cried  out  Os- 
berne  :  What !  thou  wouldst  unbreech  me,  wouldst 
thou  ?  but  now  art  thou  unbreeched.  For  there- 
with Board-cleaver  swept  round  back-handed  and 
came  back  as  swift  as  lightning,  and  the  edge 
clave  all  the  right  flank  and  buttock  of  him,  so 
that  the  blood  ran  freely ;  and  then  as  Hardcastle, 
still  staggering,  hove  up  his  sword  wildly,  Os- 
berne  put  the  slant  stroke  aside  with  his  shield, 
and  thrust  forth  Board-cleaver  right  at  his  breast, 
and  the  point  went  in,  and  the  whole  blade,  as 
there  were  nought  but  dough  before  it,  and  Hard- 
castle, nigh  rent  in  two,  fell  aback  off  the  sword. 

Osberne  stood  still  awhile  looking  on  him,  but 
Stephen  ran  up  and  knelt  beside  him,  and  felt  his 
wrist  and  laid  his  hand  on  the  breast,  and  then 
turned  and  looked  up  at  Osberne,  who  knelt 
down  beside  him  also  and  wiped  the  blood  off 
Board-cleaver  with  a  lap  of  the  dead  man's  coat. 
Then  he  stood  up  and  thrust  the  blade  back  into 
the  sheath,  and  wound  the  peace-strings  about  it 
all.  Then  came  the  word  into  his  mouth,  and 
he  sang : 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  95 

Came  sword  and  shield 

To  the  hazelled  field 

Where  the  fey-man  fell 

At  Wethermel : 

The  grey  blade  grew  glad 

In  the  hands  of  a  lad. 

And  the  tall  man  and  stark 

Leapt  into  the  dark. 

For  the  cleaver  of  war-boards  came  forth  from  his  door 

And  guided  the  hand  of  the  lacking  in  lore. 

But  now  is  the  blade 

In  the  dark  sheath  laid. 

And  the  peace-strings  lull 

His  heart  o'erfull. 

Up  dale  and  down 

The  hall-roofs  brown 

Hang  over  the  peace 

Of  the  year's  increase. 

No  fear  rendeth  midnight,  and  dieth  the  day 

With  no  foe  save  the  winter  that  weareth  away. 

Then  he  cried  out :  Draw  nigh,  goodman  and 
grandsire,  and  take  again  the  house  and  lands  of 
Wethermel,  as  ye  had  them  aforetime  before  yes- 
terday was  a  day.  So  the  goodman  came  to 
him  and  kissed  him,  and  thanked  him  kindly 
and  humbly,  and  the  women  came  and  embraced 
him  and  hung  about  him.  As  for  Surly  John, 
he  had  slunk  away  so  -soon  as  he  saw  the  fall  of 
his  master,  and  now  when  they  looked  around 
for  him,  they  saw  him  but  as  a  fleck  going  swiftly 
down  the  Dale.  Thereat  they  all  laughed  to- 
gether, and  the  laughter  eased  their  hearts,  so  that 
they  felt  free  and  happy. 


96  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Now,  said  Stephen,  what  shall  we  do  with  this 
carcass,  that  was  so  fierce  and  fell  this  morning  ? 
Said  Osberne  :  We  shall  lay  him  in  earth  here  in 
his  raiment  as  he  fell,  since  he  died  in  manly  wise, 
though  belike  he  has  lived  as  a  beast.  But  his 
sword  I  will  give  to  thee  in  reward  for  thy  trusty 
following  both  now  and  at  other  times. 

So  Stephen  fetched  mattock  and  pick,  and  dug 
a  grave  for  that  champion  amidwards  of  the  hazel- 
garth,  and  there  they  laid  him,  and  heaped  up 
mould  and  stones  over  his  grave  ;  and  to  this 
day  it  is  called  Hardcastle's  Howe  there,  or  for 
short,  and  that  the  oftenest,  Hardcastle.  So  they 
went  all  of  them  up  to  the  house,  and  were  merry 
and  joyful. 


CHAPTER  XVIII.     OSBERNE   TELLS 
ELFHILD   OF  THE   KILLING   OF 
HARDCASTLE. 

BUT  two  days  after  this  was  the  tryst-day  for 
Osberne  to  see  his  over-water  friend,  and 
he  went  soberly  enough,  and  came  to  the 
water-side  and  found  her  over  against  him  ;  and 
she  asked  him  of  tidings.  Tidings  enough,  said 
he,  for  now  have  I  done  a  deed  beyond  my  years, 
a  deed  unmeet  for  a  child  ;  to  wit,  I  have  slain  a 
man.  O,  she  said,  and  didst  thou  sleep  after  the 
deed  ?  Said  Osberne :  Yea,  and  dreamed  never 
a  deal.  But  I  must  tell  thee  that  I  was  in  my 
right.  Said  Elfhild :  What  did  he  to  thee  that 
thou  must  slay  him  ?  Osberne  said :  He  came 
swaggering  into  our  house  and  would  take  all  to 
him,  and  put  all  of  us  to  the  road  or  hold  us  in 
thraldom.  She  said  :  But  tell  me,  how  didst  thou 
slay  him  ?  Was  he  drunk  or  asleep  ?  Nay, 
said  he ;  I  was  champion  for  my  grandsire,  and 
the  robber  had  a  sword  in  his  fist,  and  I  another, 
and  we  fought,  and  I  overcame  him.  Said  the 
maiden  :  But  was  he  mannikin  or  a  dastard,  or 
unskilled  in  weapons  ?  Spake  Osberne,  redden- 
ing :  He  was  a  stark  carle,  a  bold  man,  and  was 
said  to  be  of  all  prowess. 

She  said  nothing  awhile,  but  stood  pale  and 
downcast.  And  he  said  :  What  is  this,  playmate  ? 
I  looked  to  have  much  praise  from  thee  for  my 
deed.     Dost  thou  know  that  this  man  was  as  the 


98  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

pest  to  all  the  country-side,  and  that  I  have  freed 
men  of  peace  from  a  curse?  Be  not  wrath  with 
me,  Osberne,  she  said,  indeed  I  am  somewhat 
downcast ;  for  I  see  that  now  thou  wilt  be  no  play- 
mate for  me,  but  will  be  a  man  before  thy  time, 
and  will  be  looking  towards  such  things  as  men 
desire  ;  and  that  tall  maidens  come  to  womanhood 
will  be  for  thee,  not  quaint  rags  of  children  such 
as  I  be.  Now,  Elfhild,  said  he,  why  wilt  thou 
run  to  meet  trouble  half  way  ?  Am  I  worser  to 
thee  than  I  was  last  time?  Nay,  she  said,  and  in- 
deed I  deem  thee  glorious,  and  it  is  kind  and 
kind  of  thee  to  come  tome  ever,  and  not  to  miss 
one  of  our  trysts. 

Now  thou  art  dear,  said  Osberne ;  and  wilt 
thou  do  something  for  my  disport  ?  wilt  thou 
pipe  thy  sheep  to  thee  ?  Nay,  said  she,  I  will  not; 
I  will  not  skip  like  an  antic,  and  show  thee  my 
poor  little  spindle  legs.  If  I  were  a  woman  grown 
I  should  scarce  show  so  much  as  the  ankle  of  my 
foot.  Besides,  thou  laughest  at  my  hopping  and 
jumping  amongst  those  foolish  woolly  beasts,  and 
I  would  not  have  thee  laugh  at  me.  Elfhild,  my 
dear,  said  he,  thou  art  wrong.  When  I  have 
laughed  it  was  never  in  mockery  of  thee,  but  for 
pleasure  of  thy  pretty  ways  and  the  daintiness  of 
thy  dancing,  which  is  like  to  the  linden  leaves  on  a 
fresh  summer  morning.  But  how  am  I  to  know 
that  ?  she  said.  Well,  at  any  rate  ask  me  not  to 
dance  to-day.  But  I  will  sit  down  and  tell  thee 
a  very  sweet  tale  of  old  times,  which  thou  hast 
never  erst  heard.     It  is  about  the  sea  and  ships. 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  99 

and  of  a  sea-wife  coming  into  the  dwellings  of  men. 
Quoth  Osberne,  I  were  fain  to  look,  on  the  sea 
and  to  sail  it.  Yea,  said  Elfhild,  but  thou  wilt 
take  me  with  thee,  wilt  thou  not?  O,  yea,  said 
Osberne.  And  they  both  forgat  the  Sundering 
Flood,  and  how  they  should  never  meet,  as  they 
sat  each  side  of  the  fearful  water,  and  the  tale  and 
sweet  speech  sped  to  and  fro  betwixt  them.  So  a 
fair  ending  had  that  day  of  tryst. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  THE  WINTER  PASSES 
AND  ELFHILD  TELLS  OF  THE  DEATH 
OF    HER    KINSWOMAN. 

NOW  Osberne  and  Stephen  both  give  rede 
to  the  goodman,  and  bid  him  hve  some- 
what less  niggardly,  since  not  only  had 
they  good  store  of  victual  and  clothes  and  the  like, 
which  had  been  hoarded  a  long  time,  but  also  the 
gifts  of  Waywearer  had  stood  them  in  good  stead  ; 
and  furthermore,  the  goodman  was  much  bettered 
by    the    spoil    of  Hardcastle.      For  he  had    left 
much  wealth  behind  him,  and  chiefly  in  silver  and 
gold  ;  and  all  that  he  had  left  save   bis   weapons 
had  Osberne  given  to  his  grandsire.     So  the  good- 
man  heeded  their  words  and  let  himself  be  talked 
over,  and  while  winter  was  yet  young,  and  before 
there  was  any  snow  to  hinder,  he  rode  with  Os- 
berne down  the  Dale,  and  looked  into  many  of 
the  steads,  and  amongst  others,  where  dwelt  the 
damsel  who  had  been  paired  with  Osberne  on  the 
day  of  the    mid-winter  Cloven   Mote.     And  he 
thought  her  fair  and  sweet,  and  she  received  him 
joyfully  and   kissed    him ;  but  he  was  scarce  so 
ready  for  that  as  he  was  aforetime,  for  he  deemed 
she  kissed  him  as  a  child  and  not  a  man.     So  by 
hook  or  by  crook  the  goodman  got  him  six  hired 
folk ;  three  men,  two  of  whom  were  young,  and 
three  women,  all  young  and  one  comely,  one   ill- 
favoured,  and  the  other  betwixt  and  between.     It 
must  be  said,  by  the  way,  that  if  he  had  abided  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  lOl 

spring  for  getting  these  new  folk  he  would  scarce 
have  hired  them,  for  the  repute  of  Wethermel  for 
scant  housekeeping  had  gone  wide  about ;  but 
when  folk  heard  that  Master  Nicholas  was  hiring 
folk  from  mid-winter  onwards,  they  were  willing 
enough  to  come,  whereas  they  deemed  he  would 
be  changing  his  mind  and  becoming  open-handed. 
So  Nicholas  rides  back  with  his  catch,  for  he  had 
brought  nags  to  horse  them,  and  henceforth  is 
good  house  kept  at  Wethermel,  as  good  as  any- 
where in  the  Dale. 

Again  fared  Osberne  to  the  mid-winter  Cloven 
Mote,  and  again  was  he  mated  to  the  above-said 
damsel,  who  hight  Gertrude ;  and  forsooth  he 
deemed  that  this  time  she  kissed  him  and  caressed 
him  not  so  wholly  as  a  mere  boy,  though  of  such 
things  ye  may  well  deem  he  knew  little.  For  she 
seemed  to  find  it  hard  when  they  kissed,  as  paired 
folk  are  bound  to  do,  to  let  her  lips  leave  his,  and 
when  their  hands  parted  at  the  end  of  the  Mote 
she  gave  a  great  sigh,  and  put  her  cheek  toward 
him  for  a  parting  kiss,  which  forsooth  he  gave  her 
somewhat  unheedfully  ;  for  he  was  looking  hard 
toward  the  other  shore  to  see  if  he  could  make 
out  the  shape  of  Elfhild  amongst  the  women  there, 
as  he  had  done  whenever  he  gat  a  chance  of  it  all 
day  long,  but  had  failed  wholly  therein. 

Three  days  afterwards  he  kept  tryst  with  Elf- 
hild, and  asked  her  if  she  had  been  at  the  Mote, 
and  she  told  him  No ;  that  her  aunts  went  every 
time,  but  always  left  her  behind.  Then  she  said 
smiling :  And  this  time  they  have  come  back  full 


I02  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

of  thy  praises,  for  the  tale  of  thee,  and  the  slaying 
of  the  robber,  has  come  over  to  our  side ;  and 
one  of  them,  the  youngest,  had  thee  shown  to  her 
by  one  of  the  folk,  and  she  saith  that  thou  art  the 
fairest  lad  that  ever  was  seen  ;  and  therein  she  is 
not  far  wrong.  He  laughed  and  reddened,  and 
told  for  tidings  how  he  had  fared  at  the  Mote, 
and  Elf  hild  belike  was  not  best  pleased  to  hear  of 
the  fair  damsel  who  was  so  fond  of  kissing ;  but 
in  all  honesty  she  rejoiced  when  Osberne  told  how 
hard  he  had  looked  for  her  on  the  other  side  of 
the  water.  So  they  made  the  most  of  their  short 
day,  as  indeed  they  had  need  to  do,  for  through 
the  winter,  when  the  snow  was  on  the  earth  and 
the  grass  grew  not,  the  sheep  were  all  shut  up 
in  the  folds  and  the  cotes,  and  there  was  no  shep- 
herding toward  ;  so  that  Elf  hild  was  hard  put  to 
it  for  some  pretence  for  getting  away  from  the 
house,  and  their  trysts  had  to  be  further  between 
than  they  had  been  ;  and  not  seldom,  moreover, 
Elfhild  failed  at  the  trysting-place,  and  Osberne 
had  to  go  sorrowfully  away,  though  well  he  wotted 
it  was  by  no  fault  of  his  playmate. 

So  wore  the  winter  tidingless,  and  spring  came 
again,  and  again  the  two  met  oftener ;  and  great 
feast  they  made  the  first  day,  when  Elfhild  came 
to  the  ness  with  her  head  and  her  loins  wreathed 
with  the  winter's  wolfsbane.  It  was  a  warm  and 
very  clear  day  of  February,  and  Elfhild  of  her 
own  will  piped  to  her  sheep  and  danced  amongst 
them  ;  and  Osberne  looked  on  her  eagerly,  and 
he  deemed  that  she  had  grown  bigger  and  sleeker 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  103 

and  fairer  ;  and  her  feet  and  legs,  for  still  she  went 
barefoot,  since  they  had  not  the  summer  tan  on 
them,  looked  so  dalnty-white  to  him  that  sore  he 
longed  to  stroke  them  and  kiss  them.  And  this, 
belike,  was  the  beginning  to  him  of  the  longing 
of  a  young  man,  which  afterwards  was  so  sore  on 
him,  to  be  with  his  friend  and  embrace  her  and 
caress  her. 

So  they  met  often  that  springtide,  and  oftener 
as  the  weather  waxed  warmer.  And  nought  worth 
telling  befell  to  Osberne  that  while  save  these 
meetings.  But  at  last,  when  May  was  yet  young, 
Osberne  kept  tryst  thrice  and  Elfhild  came  not, 
and  the  fourth  time  she  came  and  had  tidings,  to 
wit,  that  one  of  her  kinswomen  had  died  of  sick- 
ness. Said  she  :  And  It  was  the  one  who  was  least 
kind  to  me,  and  made  most  occasion  for  chastis- 
ing me.  Well,  she  Is  gone ;  and  often  she  was 
kind  to  me,  and  before  I  saw  thee  I  loved  her 
somewhat.  But  now  things  will  go  better,  be- 
cause the  other  aunt,  who  was  kinder  than  the 
dead  one,  hath  taken  also  Into  the  house  that  old 
woman  whereof  I  told  thee,  who  hath  taught  me 
lore  and  many  ancient  tales ;  and  though  she  be 
old  and  wrinkled,  she  Is  kind  and  loves  me :  and 
she  Is  on  our  side,  and  I  have  told  her  about  thee  ; 
and  she  In  turn  told  me  strange  things  and  unked, 
which  I  will  not  and  dare  not  tell  again  to  thee. 
Wherefore  now  let  us  be  glad  together.  Said 
Osberne :  Yea,  we  will  try  to  be  glad ;  but  see 
thou,  I  want  more  than  this  now,  I  want  to  come 
across  to  thee,  and  tell  thee  things  which  I  cannot 


104  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

shout  across  this  accursed  Flood ;  and  I  want  to 
take  thee  by  the  hand  and  put  my  arms  about 
thee  and  kiss  thee.  Dost  thou  not  wish  the  like 
by  me  ?  O,  yea,  said  the  maiden  reddening,  most 
soothly  do  I.  But  hearken,  Osberne  ;  the  carline 
sayeth  that  all  this  thou  shalt  do  to  me,  and  that 
we  shall  meet  body  to  body  one  day.  Dost  thou 
trow  in  this  ?  Nay,  how  can  I  tell,  said  he  some- 
what surlily,  when  thou  hast  told  me  so  little  of 
the  tale.  Well,  she  said,  but  I  may  not  tell  more  ; 
so  now,  I  pray,  let  us  be  glad  with  what  we  have 
got  of  meeting  oftener,  and  a  life  better  and  mer- 
rier for  me.  Bethink  thee,  my  dear,  that  if  I  live 
easier  and  have  not  to  toil  so  much,  and  catch 
fewer  stripes,  and  have  better  meat  and  more,  I 
shall  grow  sleeker  and  daintier,  yea  and  bigger, 
so  that  I  shall  look  older  and  more  woman-like 
sooner.  And  she  wept  a  little  therewith ;  so  he 
repented  his  surliness  and  set  to  comfort  her,  till 
she  laughed  and  he  also,  and  they  were  merrier 
together. 

So  now  time  after  time  was  their  converse  sweet 
and  happy,  and  true  it  was  that  Elfhild  grew 
fairer  and  sleeker  week  by  week ;  and  she  was 
better  clad  now,  and  well  shod,  and  wore  her 
ouches  and  necklaces  openly,  though  she  said  she 
had  not  shown  all  to  the  carline.  Not  all  of  thine 
I  mean.  But  the  Dwarf  necklace,  the  glorious 
one,  I  have  shown  her,  and  she  saith  that  it  is 
such  a  wonder  that  it  forebodeth  my  becoming  a 
Queen ;  and  that  will  be  well,  as  thou  shalt  be  a 
great  man.     Thus-wise  they  prattled. 


CHAPTER  XX.  OSBERNE  FARES  TO 
EAST  CHEAPING  AND  BRINGS  GIFTS 
FOR    ELFHILD. 

BUT  when  June  was,  Master  Nicholas  would 
ride  to  East  Cheaping,  and  he  took  Os- 
berne  with  him ;  and  a  great  wonder  it 
was  to  see  so  many  houses  built  of  stone  and  lime 
all  standing  together,  and  so  fair,  as  he  deemed 
them,  though  it  was  but  a  little  cheaping.  How- 
soever, without  the  walls  was  an  abbey  of  monks, 
which  was  both  fair  and  great,  and  the  church 
thereof  as  well  fashioned  as  most ;  and  when  the 
lad  went  thereinto  he  was  all  ravished  with  joy  at 
the  great  pillars  and  arches,  and  the  vault  above, 
and  the  pictures  on  the  walls  and  in  the  windows, 
and  the  hangings  and  other  braveries  about  the 
altars.  And  when  he  was  at  high  mass,  and  the 
monks  and  the  minstrels  fell  to  singing  together, 
he  scarce  knew  whether  he  were  in  heaven  or  on 
earth  ;  yet  whether  in  one  or  the  other,  he  longed 
to  have  his  friend  from  over  the  river  with  him, 
that  she  might  see  and  hear  it  all,  and  tell  him 
what  she  thought  of  it.  Wondrous  also  was  the 
market  wherein  they  did  their  chaffer,  and  the 
chapmen  in  their  fine  coats  of  strange  fashion  to 
him  and  their  outland  faces,  and  the  carts  and 
wains  of  the  country  folk  and  their  big  sleek 
horses.  And  when  it  was  all  done  he  found  that 
he  had  more  than  a  silver  penny  or  two  in  his 
pouch;  for  a  deal  of  the  wares  sold  were  his  own. 


io6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

to  wit,  the  peltries  he  had  gotten  by  his  shooting 
and  his  valour.  For  a  great  bear  had  he  slain 
with  spear  and  shield  by  himself,  and  two  more 
with  the  help  of  Stephen  the  Eater,  and  wolves 
and  foxes  and  ermines  and  beavers  a  great  many. 
But  when  he  had  the  money  it  burnt  a  hole  in  his 
pocket ;  for  he  must  needs  go  to  the  booths  and 
buy  for  Elfhild,  as  far  as  his  money  went,  such 
things  as  he  deemed  he  could  shoot  across  the 
flood  to  her,  as  fair  windowed  shoon,  and  broidered 
hosen  and  dainty  smocks,  and  silken  kerchiefs, 
and  a  chaplet  for  her  head.  And  when  this  was 
done,  he  was  about  with  his  grandsire  in  the  street, 
and  there  came  down  from  the  Castle  a  company 
of  riders,  all  in  jack  and  sallet  and  long  spears,  and 
two  knights  in  white  armour  all  gleaming  in  the 
sun,  and  the  banner  of  the  good  town  with  them. 
Then  his  heart  rose  so  high  at  the  sight,  and  he 
yearned  so  for  deeds  of  fame,  that  he  smote  his 
hands  together  and  called  good  luck  on  them,  and 
some  of  them  turned  about  and  laughed  to  each 
other,  and  praised  the  goodly  boy,  and  knew  not 
that  he  had  slain  a  stouter  man  than  e'er  a  one  of 
them.  Withal  his  eyes  might  be  no  long  while 
off  the  gay-clad  young  women ;  for  it  was  holy 
day,  and  they  dressed  out  in  their  best;  and  he 
stared  so  downrightly  on  them  that  his  grandsire 
rebuked  him  aloud.  And  that  heard  some  of  the 
women,  and  they  who  were  fair  amongst  them 
laughed  and  praised  him,  for  they  deemed  him 
right  welcome  to  look  on  all  he  might  see  of 
them,  so  fair  a  boy  as  he  was :  and  one  of  them. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  107 

a  goodly  woman  of  some  thirty  summers,  came 
up  to  him  and  bade  the  old  carle  hold  his  peace 
and  not  scold  at  the  boy ;  For,  said  she,  the  lad 
is  so  well-liking  that  he  hath  good  right  already 
to  deal  with  any  woman  as  he  will ;  and  when  he 
groweth  older  by  a  half  score  years,  God-a-mercy, 
which  of  us  shall  be  able  to  say  him  nay  !  Would 
I  were  younger  by  that  tale  of  years,  that  I  might 
be  able  presently  to  follow  him  all  over  the  world. 
And  therewith  she  kissed  him  betwixt  the  eyes 
and  went  her  ways.  But  as  before,  he  was  but 
half  pleased  to  be  so  kissed,  as  a  mere  child. 
Shortly  to  say,  they  made  great  feast  there  for 
the  joy  of  all  these  things,  and  rode  back  to  the 
Dale  in  a  day  or  two,  and  came  safe  and  sound  to 
Wethermel. 

Now  at  the  next  meeting  'twixt  the  two  children 
Osberne  bore  down  all  those  fair  things  ;  and  he 
found  Elfhild  on  the  ness,  and  she  looking  shy 
and  dear,  for  he  had  told  her  that  he  was  going 
to  the  cheaping.  And  now  was  her  hair  no  longer 
spread  abroad,  but  bound  up  close  to  her  head, 
and  she  was  clad  in  a  seemly  gown  of  homespun, 
with  black  hosen  and  skin  shoes  well  laced. 

Straightway  after  the  first  greetings  was  great 
ado  about  shooting  those  fair  things  across  the 
water  ;  and  when  they  were  all  across,  Elfhild  un- 
did them,  and  wept  for  sheer  joy  of  them  and  for 
love  of  her  valiant  friend,  and  at  last  she  sat  nigh 
the  edge  hugging  them  all  to  her  bosom,  and  said  : 
Now,  sweetheart,  is  the  tale  on  thy  side,  for  thou 
must  tell  me  all  that  thou  hast  seen  and  done. 


lo8  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

So  he  fell  to,  nought  loth,  and  told  everything  at 
large,  and  the  little  maiden's  eyes  sparkled  and 
her  face  glowed ;  but  when  he  had  told  last  of  all 
about  the  women  and  of  her  who  had  kissed  him, 
she  said  :  Ah,  all  that  is  just  what  my  carline  saith 
of  thee,  that  all  women  shall  love  thee;  and  that 
is  most  like,  and  what  shall  I  do  then,  I  who  shall 
be  so  far  away  from  thee  ?  Then  he  swore  to  her 
that  whatever  betid  he  would  alwavs  love  her,  and 
she  made  as  if  she  were  gladdened  again  thereby ; 
but  in  her  heart  she  could  not  but  deem  that  he 
made  somewhat  light  of  it,  and  was  nought  so 
anxious  as  she  was. 

But  ere  they  parted  that  day  she  went  aback  a 
little,  and  did  on  her  all  those  fair  things  which  he 
had  brought,  such  as  she  might  get  upon  her  body ; 
and  a  gown  of  fine  cloth  was  one  of  them,  which 
he  had  made  a  shift  to  cast  across  bundled  up,  by 
dint  of  his  new  strength.  So  dight,  she  stood  for 
him  to  look  at  her,  and  he  was  well  pleased,  and 
praised  her  in  such  wise  that  it  was  clear  he  looked 
at  her  wisely  and  closely.  So  they  parted.  But 
when  he  was  gone,  she  sat  down  and  wept,  she 
knew  not  why.  And  in  a  while  she  arose  and  did 
on  her  everyday  raiment,  and  went  home. 


CHAPTER  XXI.  WARRIORS  FROM 
EAST  CHEAPING  RIDE  INTO  THE 
DALE. 

SO  the  summer  wears  with  nought  to  tell  of, 
and  autumn  and  winter  in  like  manner,  and 
yet  another  year  passes  unmarked  by  strife 
or  mishap  in  the  Dale  ;  and  now  spring  was  come 
again,  and  it  was  hard  on  three  years  since  those 
twain  had  first  met,  and  Osberne  was  sixteen  years 
old  and  Elfhild  but  a  month  and  a  half  less,  and 
still  they  met  happily  as  aforetime.  Wethermel 
throve  in  all  wise  this  while,  and  there  was  deep 
peace  on  the  Eastern  Dale,  and  never  had  the 
edges  of  Board-cleaver  looked  on  the  light  of  day 
since  the  fall  of  Hardcastle. 

But  in  early  May  of  this  year  came  riders  into 
the  Dale,  friends,  though  they  rode  all-armed,  to 
wit,  the  men-at-arms  of  East  Cheaping,  even  such 
as  Osberne  had  seen  riding  down  from  the  Castle 
the  last  time  of  his  going  thither;  and  the  errand 
they  came  on  was  this,  that  war  and  strife  were  at 
hand  for  the  good  town,  for  the  Baron  of  Deep- 
dale  had  sent  the  Porte  his  challenge  for  some 
matter  of  truage,  wherein  the  town  deemed  it  had 
a  clear  right,  and  seeing  that  it  was  nought  feeble, 
it  had  a  settled  mind  to  fight  it  out.  Wherefore 
it  had  sent  a  knight  of  its  service  and  a  company 
of  men-at-arms  to  see  what  help  its  friends  of  the 
Dale  would  give  it  at  the  pinch  :  for  it  was  well 
known  that  the  dalesmen  were  stalwart  carles  if 


no  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

need  were,  both  a-foot  and  on  horseback,  though 
they  were  no  stirrers  up  of  strife. 

With  this  errand  on  hand  came  the  men  into 
the  Dale,  and  the  very  first  stead  they  came  to  was 
Wethermel,  for  it  lay  first  on  their  road.  And 
now  was  Wethermel  a  well-manned  stead,  for  be- 
sides Stephen  the  Eater,  there  were  twelve  carles 
defensible  dwelling  there,  whereof  five  were  sons 
of  men  of  estate. 

So  when  the  said  men-at-arms  rode  into  the 
garth  of  a  bright  May  evening,  and  they  all  glit- 
tering like  so  many  heaps  of  sunlit  ice,  all  folk 
came  out  a-doors,  and  Osberne  stood  before 
them  all,  clad  in  scarlet  raiment,  for  Nicho- 
las the  goodman  hung  back  somewhat,  as  was 
his  wont  when  he  deemed  he  saw  peril  at  hand. 
Then  Osberne  hailed  the  newcomers,  and  asked 
no  questions  of  them,  and  made  no  words 
save  to  welcome  them  and  bid  them  in.  And 
they  got  off  their  horses  and  entered  the 
house,  one  score  and  five  all  told ;  and  there 
they  unarmed  them,  and  all  service  was  done 
them,  and  then  meat  and  drink  were  set  on  the 
board  and  all  folk  fared  to  supper,  and  it  was  soon 
seen  that  both  sides  were  friendly  and  sweet  one 
with  the  other.  And  Osberne  set  the  Knight  who 
was  their  captain  at  his  right  hand,  and  they  talked 
merrily  together.  But  when  supper  was  done  the 
Knight  spake  unto  Osberne  and  Nicholas  and 
said  :  Sirs,  is  it  free  for  me  to  tell  out  our  errand 
into  the  Dale  ?  Osberne  answered  :  We  should 
not  have  asked  it,  fair  sir,  if  ye  had  not  offered  to 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  III 

tell  it,  but  would  rather  have  prayed  you  to  drink 
a  cup  or  two  ;  but  so  it  is  that  we  be  eager  to  hear 
your  tale,  whereas  we  see  that  ye  are  of  our  friends 
of  East  Cheaping.  Then  the  Knight  began,  and 
told  them  of  their  quarrel  from  point  to  point, 
and  the  right  they  deemed  they  had  therein.  And 
from  time  to  time  Osberne  put  in  a  question  when 
he  would  have  the  matter  made  clearer  to  him, 
and  the  Knight  deemed  his  questions  handy  and 
wise;  and  at  last  he  said:  Now  so  it  is,  neigh- 
bours, that  we  ask  help  of  you  ;  and  the  help  we 
need  is  not  so  much  of  money  or  beasts  or  weapons 
as  of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  stark  and  stout- 
hearted men.  What  say  ye,  who  be  here,  have 
ye  will  to  ward  your  cheaping,  and  the  place  where 
we  have  done  good  to  each  other,  or  will  ye  let  all 
go  down  the  wind  as  for  you  ? 

Fair  sir,  said  Osberne,  we  will  first  ask  you  one 
question  :  Ye  bid  us  to  ride  to  battle  with  you  in 
your  quarrel  ;  but  do  ye  bid  and  command  us  this 
service  as  of  right,  or  do  ye  crave  our  help  as 
neighbours,  and  because  there  is  love  and  dealings 
betwixt  us?  And  this  I  ask  because  we  dalesmen 
deem  that  we  be  free  men,  owning  no  service  to 
any  lord,  or  earl,  or  king. 

Said  the  Knight:  We  claim  no  service  of  you 
of  right  or  by  custom,  but  crave  your  help  as  bold 
and  free  neighbours  who  for  love's  sake  may  be 
fain  of  helping  friends  in  need. 

Spake  Osberne :  Then  there  is  no  more  to  be 
said  but  this,  that  there  is  one  who  will  ride  with 
you,  and  that  is  my  own  self.     And  though  I  be 


112  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

but  a  lad  I  have  a  stroke  of  work  in  me,  as  some 
hereby  can  witness ;  and  if  thou  wilt,  I  will  ride 
down  the  Dale  with  you  and  give  you  my  further- 
ance with  the  goodmen  there.  But  as  for  these 
good  fellows :  Which  of  you  will  ride  with  this 
Knight  against  the  good  town's  foemen  and  ours  ? 
They  all  cried  aye  to  this  and  rose  up  and  shouted. 
But  Osberne  said  :  Well,  lads,  but  some  one  must 
be  left  behind  to  look  to  the  goodman  and  the 
women,  and  husband  field  and  fold.  I  will  take 
with  me  but  six  and  Stephen  the  Eater,  my  m.an. 
And  he  named  them  one  after  the  other.  Who 
were  joyous  now  save  the  Knight  and  his  men-at- 
arms,  and  they  all  drank  a  cup  to  the  young  mas- 
ter;  but  sooth  to  say,  some  of  them  wondered 
how  so  young  a  lad  would  bear  him  in  the  fight. 
But  others  said  :  Let-a-be,  no  man  so  well  beloved 
as  this  shall  be  a  dastard. 

So  merry  they  were  in  the  hall  and  drank  a 
bout,  but  not  for  long,  whereas  the  captain  would 
not  have  his  men  so  drunk  that  they  might  not 
ride  fast  and  far  on  the  morrow.  So  the  voidee 
cup  was  drunk,  and  Osberne  led  the  Knight  to 
his  bed  and  gave  him  good-night.  But  ere 
he  was  asleep  came  Stephen  to  his  bedside  and 
asked  was  he  fain  of  a  tale ;  and  the  Knight  yea- 
said  it ;  so  Stephen  told  much  about  the  Dale  and 
its  folk,  and  about  the  Dwarfs  and  the  Land-wights. 
And  at  last  he  fell  to  talk  about  his  master,  the 
young  one,  and  told  much  of  him  and  his  valiancy 
and  kindness  and  prowess ;  and  he  told  at  length 
^11  the  tale  how  Hardcastle  had  sped  at  his  hands. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  113 

And  the  captain  marvelled  and  said :  I  am  in 
luck  to  see  this  lad  and  be  his  fellow  then ; 
for  such  marvels  come  not  to  hand  more  than 
once  or  twice  in  a  ten  score  years,  and  this  is  one 
of  them. 


CHAPTER   XXII.     OSBERNE  TAKES 
LEAVE   OF    ELFHILD. 

SO  they  rose  on  the  morrow  and  dight  them 
in  their  armour ;  and  Osberne  did  on  him 
Hardcastle's  long  byrny  and  gilded  basnet, 
and  girded  Board-cleaver  to  him,  and  took  his 
spear  in  hand  and  hung  his  shield  at  his  back. 
But  his  bow  and  wonder-shafts  he  gave  to  Stephen 
to  bear  with  him  ;  and  Stephen  and  the  other 
men  were  fairly  well  bedight ;  and  the  captain 
said  that  if  there  was  any  lack  of  weapons  or 
armour  to  any  of  them  it  mattered  but  little,  as 
they  had  good  store  of  gear  at  the  cheaping. 

So  they  ate  a  morsel  and  drank  one  cup  and 
then  rode  their  ways  down  the  Dale.  And  the 
longest  tale  that  need  be  told  of  them  is  that,  by 
the  furtherance  of  Osberne,  they  sped  their  er- 
rand well  at  most  of  the  steads  of  the  mid  and 
lower  Dales.  And  they  made  stay  for  the  night 
at  a  stead  hight  Wood-neb,  which  was  some  Uttle 
way  up  the  river  from  the  place  where  the  East 
and  West  Dales  held  the  'Cloven  Mote,  and  by 
consequence  not  over  far  from  the  trysting-place 
of  those  twain.  At  the  said  house  that  even  they 
were  of  one  mind  to  gather  a  mote  there  the  next 
morning,  and  they  sent  folk  that  same  night  to 
bear  the  war-arrow  to  the  steads  above  and  below, 
and  all  seemed  like  to  go  well ;  and  ever  Osberne 
spake   his  mind    without   fear  or  favour  to    the 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  115 

boldest  and  wisest  that  were  there.  But  as  he 
was  laying  himself  down  to  sleep  a  pang  shot 
into  his  heart,  for  he  called  to  mind  that  the 
morrow  was  the  very  day  of  tryst  at  the  Bight  of 
the  Cloven  Knoll,  and  longer  it  was  ere  he  got 
to  sleep  that  night  than  was  his  wont.  But  when 
day  came  he  was  awake  and  few  were  stirring. 
So  he  arose  and  clad  him  in  his  war-gear,  and 
went  out  of  the  house  and  out  of  the  garth  when 
it  was  not  yet  sunrise,  and  came  down  to  the 
river  and  went  up  it  till  he  and  the  sunbeams 
came  together  to  his  place  over  against  the  ness, 
and  there  he  abided.  But  he  had  been  there  a 
scant  half  hour  ere  he  saw  Elfhild  coming  up  the 
slope,  and  she  clad  in  all  that  fair  weed  he  had 
given  her,  wherein  this  time  of  spring  and  early 
summer  she  mostly  came  to  the  trysting-place, 
and  about  her  shoulders  was  a  garland  of  white 
May  blossom.  And  when  she  saw  him  in  his 
shifting  grey  hauberk  and  gleaming  helm,  and 
Board-cleaver  girt  to  his  side  and  the  spear  in  his 
hand,  she  stretched  out  her  hands  to  him  and 
cried  out :  O  if  thou  mightest  but  be  here  and 
thine  arms  about  me  !  for  now  I  see  that  some 
evil  hath  befallen,  and  that  thou  art  arrayed  to 
go  away  from  out  of  the  Dale.  And  O  thy  war- 
coat  and  thine  helm  !  thou  art  going  into  peril  of 
death,  and  thou  so  young  !  But  I  had  an  inkling 
hereof,  for  there  were  two  carles  in  our  house 
last  night,  and  they  said  that  there  were  weap- 
oned  men  riding  amidst  the  East  Dalers.  Tell 
me,  what  is  it?     Will  ye  fight  in  the  Dale  or  go 


Il6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

far  from  it  ?  and  then  how  long  dost  thou  look 
to  be  away  ?  He  spake,  and  his  face  was  writhen 
with  the  coming  tears,  so  sore  his  heart  was  stung 
by  her  sorrow  :  It  is  indeed  true  that  I  am  come 
to  bid  thee  farewell  for  awhile,  and  this  is  the 
manner  of  it.  And  therewith  he  told  her  all  as 
it  was,  and  said  withal:  Now  I  can  do  nought 
save  to  bid  thee  gather  thy  valiance  to  thee  and 
not  to  wound  my  heart  with  the  wildness  of  thy 
grief  And  look  thou,  my  dear  ;  e'en  now  thou 
wert  saying  thy  yearning  that  mine  arms  were 
round  about  thy  body.  Now  are  we  no  longer 
altogether  children,  and  I  will  tell  thee  that  it  is 
many  a  day  since  I  have  longed  for  this;  and  now 
I  know  that  thou  longest  that  our  bodies  might 
meet.  Belike  thou  wilt  deem  me  hard  and  self- 
seeking  if  I  tell  thee  that  there  is  more  joy  in 
me  for  the  gain  of  that  knowledge  than  there  is 
sorrow  in  my  heart  for  thy  pain.  Nay,  nay,  she 
said,  but  for  that  I  deem  thee  the  dearer  and  the 
dearer.  See  then,  sweetheart,  said  he,  how  might 
it  ever  come  about  that  we  might  meet  bodily  if 
I  abode  ever  at  Wethermel  and  in  the  Dale  in 
peace  and  quietness,  while  thou  dwelt  still  with 
thy  carlines  on  the  other  side  of  this  fierce  stream  ? 
Must  I  not  take  chance-hap  and  war  by  the  hand 
and  follow  where  they  lead,  that  I  may  learn  the 
wideness  of  the  world,  and  compass  earth  and  sea 
till  I  have  gone  about  the  Sundering  Flood  and 
found  thy  little  body  somewhere  in  the  said 
wide  world  ^  And  maybe  this  is  the  beginning 
thereof 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  117 

Now  was  the  maiden  a  little  comforted,  and 
she  said,  smiling  as  well  as  she  might :  And  be- 
like thou  art  for  the  cheaping  again  ?  Dost  thou 
remember  what  a  joy  it  was  to  thee  to  bring  me 
those  things  and  shoot  and  cast  them  over  the 
water  unto  me  ?  Now  this  time  when  thou 
comest  back  into  the  Dale  I  will  ask  thee  to 
bring  me  one  thing  more,  and  then  I  shall  be 
satisfied. 

Yea,  sweetheart,  and  what  shall  that  be  ?  And 
sooth  to  say  it  went  against  the  grain  with  him 
that  at  the  very  moment  of  their  parting  she 
should  crave  something,  like  a  very  child,  for  a 
fairing.  But  she  said :  O  my  dear,  and  what 
should  it  be  but  thou  thyself?  And  therewith 
she  could  refrain  her  passion  no  longer,  but  brake 
out  a-weeping  sorely  again,  so  that  her  eyes  could 
no  longer  behold  him.  But  she  heard  many  ca- 
ressing words  come  across  the  water,  and  many 
farewells  and  words  of  grief,  and  yet  she  could 
not  master  her  tears  so  that  she  could  see  him 
clearly,  neither  could  she  speak  one  word  in  an- 
swer. But  at  last  she  looked  up  and  saw  that  he 
was  gone  from  before  her,  and  dimly  she  saw  him 
yet  a  little  way  gone  down  the  water,  and  he 
turned  toward  her  and  raised  his  hand  and  waved 
it  to  her.  And  nought  else  she  saw  of  him  for 
that  time  save  the  gleam  of  his  scarlet  surcoat  and 
a  flash  of  his  helm  in  the  May  sunlight. 

But  for  Osberne,  sick  at  heart  at  first  he  was, 
and  he  strode  hurrying  along  if  that  might  ease 
him  a  little,  and  after  a  while  he  took  some  deal 


Ii8  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

of  courage,  but  still  hastened  on  leaving  the  water- 
side. Then  in  a  while  himseemed  to  hear  the 
voice  of  a  great  horn  afar  off,  and  he  called  to 
mind  that  the  Mote  had  been  summoned ;  and 
his  mind  turned  toward  what  was  to  do. 


CHAPTER   XXIII.     OSBERNE   IS 
CHOSEN    CAPTAIN    OF    THE 
DALESMEN. 

SO  when  he  was  come  anigh  the  stead  he  saw 
the  gathered  folk  and  the  glittering  of 
weapons  about  a  knoll  a  bowshot  without 
the  garth,  and  made  the  best  of  his  way  toward 
the  Mote.  And  as  he  was  drawing  near,  there 
ran  toward  him  divers  men  from  the  skirts  of  the 
throng,  and  cried  out  to  him  to  hasten,  For  now, 
cried  one  of  them,  the  Mote  is  dealing  with  thee. 
So  he  ran  on  with  them  ;  and  when  he  entered 
the  throng,  which  for  those  parts  was  no  small  one, 
there  went  up  a  great  shout,  and  they  shoved 
him  along  up  to  the  foot  of  the  knoll,  on  the 
top  whereof  stood  three  of  the  best  men  of  estate, 
and  the  Lawman  of  the  Dale,  and  the  captain  of 
the  men  of  East  Cheaping.  These  called  him  to 
come  amongst  them,  and  then  the  Lawman  fell 
to  speaking :  Osberne  Wulfgrimson,  said  he, 
thou  art  late  at  the  Mote,  and  it  is  well-nigh  done, 
but  this  is  the  heart  of  the  matter,  that  we  have 
ten  score  and  six  of  goodmen  pledged  them  to 
ride  with  these  friends  of  East  Cheaping;  but 
they  have  craved  to  have  a  captain  to  them 
chosen  from  us  Dalesmen.  But  whereas  there 
hath  been  but  little  war  or  strife  in  the  Dale  since 
the  riding  of  the  White  Champion,  which  is  a 
thirty  years  ago,  we  be  for  the  most  part  little 
skilled  in  battle ;  and  we  all  wot  that  thou  hast  a 


I20  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

man's  heart  in  thy  lad's  body,  and  that  thou  hast 
slain  a  mighty  man  of  war,  a  man  deft  in  all 
prowess.  Wherefore  some  of  the  folk  have 
spoken  of  thee  to  be  captain  of  our  company  ; 
and  I  tell  thee  that  I  shall  presently  call  for  the 
word  of  the  whole  Mote,  and  if  they  yea-say  it, 
then  must  thou  needs  go  as  captain  of  these,  will 
thou  nill  thou. 

Osberne  was  as  red  as  fire  in  the  face  by  then 
the  Lawman  was  done,  and  he  said :  Master,  1 
pray  thee  consider  my  youth,  and  how  I  have 
had  no  schooling  herein,  and  know  nought  of 
ordering  men  or  arraying  a  battle.  All  this  is 
nought  like  defending  life  and  livelihood  against 
a  robber  when  there  was  none  to  serve  at  a  pinch, 
and  using  one's  mother-wit  in  dealing  with  it. 
The  captain  of  the  East  Cheapers  smiled  upon 
him  kindly  and  said :  My  son,  he  who  can  use 
his  mother-wit  to  any  purpose  when  the  edges  be 
aloft  hath  learned  the  more  part  of  battle-craft. 
Withal  it  is  but  a  few  hours  agone  that  I  saw 
thee  handling  the  men  of  thine  household  like  to 
a  ripe  man.  Fear  not,  my  son,  but  that  thou 
shalt  do  well  enough ;  and  moreover  I  promise 
that  I  will  learn  thee  the  craft  all  I  may.  And 
know  that  if  thou  deny  this,  then  shalt  thou  take 
the  heart  out  of  these  good  fellows,  who  be  eager 
enough  to  help  the  good  town  and  be  no  manni- 
kins,  I  warrant  them.  Nay-say  it  not,  my  lad, 
nay-say  it  not. 

Now  was  Osberne's  heart  thumping  against  his 
ribs,  what  for  sudden  wonder,  what  for  the  hope 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  I2I 

of  renown  that  flashed  upon  him  as  a  sudden 
flame  of  strange  light.  But  withal  he  thought  in 
himself,  and  that  all  suddenly  also  :  If  the  Sun- 
dering Flood  is  to  be  encompassed  here  is  indeed 
the  beginning  of  it,  if  this  good  Knight  shall  be 
my  friend  and  shall  learn  me  the  craft  of  war,  and 
thereby  I  become  a  man  of  might,  to  be  desired 
and  waged  by  them  who  have  not  either  the  craft 
or  the  courage  to  fight  for  themselves  face  to  face 
with  their  foemen. 

Wherefore  now  he  turned  to  the  Lawman 
and  said:  Master,  it  is  enough  ;  if  the  Mote  of 
the  neighbours  will  have  me  captain  I  may  not 
nay-say  it :  and  may  my  luck  be  enough  to 
overcome  my  childish  years  ;  and  if  not,  may  I 
lie  on  the  field  and  not  come  back  again  to  hear 
the  mothers  and  maids  curse  me  for  having  cast 
away  the  lives  of  their  sons  and  their  dears. 

Then  spake  the  Lawman,  after  he  had  smiled 
on  Osberne  and  laid  his  hand  on  the  lad's  shoul- 
der: Men  of  the  East  Dale,  ye  be  met  together 
to  see  if  ye  can  in  any  wise  help  our  friends  and 
neighbours  of  East  Cheaping,  and  ye  have  told 
off  certain  men  to  go  in  arms  for  their  avail,  and 
will  have  a  captain  over  them.  Now  it  hath 
been  said  to  me  that  he  who  seems  likeliest  for 
the  said  captain  is  the  young  man  Osberne  Wulf- 
grimson  of  Wethermel,  and  if  this  be  so,  let  me 
hear  your  voices  saying  Yea.  But  even  then 
there  will  be  time  for  any  man  of  you  to  name 
another,  if  it  seem  good  to  him,  and  that  name 
will  be  also  put  to  the  Mote,  and  a  dozen  others 


122  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

if  such  there  be.  Now  first,  what  say  ye  to 
Osberne  Wulfgrimson  ? 

Straightway  arose  a  great  cheer  and  the  clash- 
ing of  weapons,  and  well-nigh  every  man  as  it 
seemed  cried  out  Yea.  But  when  the  noise  and 
cry  was  abated,  the  Lawman  bade  any  man  who 
would  put  forth  another  name.  No  man  spake 
for  a  little,  till  at  last  Surly  John  pushes  forth  to 
the  front  and  says :  I  name  Eriing  Thomasson,  a 
good  man  and  true !  Break  forth  then  great 
laughter  and  whooping,  for  the  said  Eriing  was  a 
manifest  niggard,  a  dastard  who  sweated  in  his 
bed  when  the  mouse  squeaked  in  the  wall  a-night- 
time.  But  one  man  sang  out :  Yea,  Lawman, 
and  I  name  Surly  John.  Thereat  was  there 
fresh  laughter,  and  men  shoved  John  to  and  fro 
till  they  had  hustled  him  out  to  the  skirts  of  the 
throng,  and  there  bid  him  go  a-wolf-hunting. 

But  now  the  Lawman  takes  Osberne  by  the 
hand  and  leads  him  to  the  edge  of  the  knoll,  and 
stands  there  and  says :  Men  of  the  Dale,  ye 
would  go  to  the  war  ;  ye  would  take  a  captain  to 
you;  ye  would  have  Osberne  Wulfgrimson  for 
your  captain.  All  this  ye  have  done  uncom- 
pelled,  of  your  own  will ;  therefore  take  not  the 
rue  if  it  turn  not  out  so  well  as  ye  looked  for. 
But  now  I  bid  all  them  that  be  going  this  journey 
to  lift  up  their  right  hands  and  swear  to  be  leal 
and  true  to  your  captain,  Osberne  Wulfgrimson, 
in  all  things,  for  life  or  for  death. 

Even  so  they  did  with  a  hearty  good  will ; 
thereupon  Osberne  spake  and  said,  after  he  had 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  1 23 

had  a  word  with  the  Knight,  Sir  Medard,  apart: 
All  ye  my  men,  I  have  but  this  to  say  to  you  : 
I  hold  you  trusty  and  valiant,  and  men  unlike  to 
fight  soft.  But  this  I  know  of  you,  as  of  all  other 
of  us  Dalesmen,  that  ye  are  most  wont  to  go  each 
after  his  own  will,  and  it  is  well-nigh  enough  to 
put  a  man  off  from  doing  a  thing  if  another  man 
say  to  him,  Do  it.  Now  this  manner  ye  must 
change,  since  ye  are  become  men-at-arms,  and  if 
I  bid  you  go  to  the  right  or  the  left,  ye  need 
think  of  nought  but  which  is  the  right  hand  and 
which  is  the  left;  though  forsooth  I  wot  well 
that  some  of  you  be  so  perverse  that  even  that 
debate  may  lead  you  into  trouble  and  contention. 
Now  look  to  it  that  ye  may  not  all  be  captains, 
and  they  that  try  it,  so  long  as  I  be  over  you, 
are  like  to  wend  into  wild  weather.  Now  stout- 
hearts,  and  my  friends,  it  is  a  little  past  high 
noon ;  and  we  shall  abide  here  no  longer  than 
to-morrow  morn,  and  at  day-break  we  shall  be 
on  our  way  to  East  Cheaping,  wherefore  that 
time  have  ye  got  to  see  to  your  weapons  and 
array,  and  to  say  farewell,  such  of  you  as  be  not 
too  far  off,  to  your  kindred  and  wives  and  sweet- 
hearts. And  now  let  all  we  do  our  best  when 
we  come  among  the  edges,  so  that  hereafter  one 
man  may  say  to  another  :  Thou  art  as  valiant  as 
the  Dalesmen  when  they  fought  in  the  war  of 
East  Cheaping.  Then  all  men  gave  a  great 
shout,  and  were  well-nigh  weeping-ripe  for  high 
heart  and  for  love  of  him,  though  a  minute  be- 
fore their  faces  were  all  agrin,  so  wise  and  valiant 


124       '         THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  kind  they  deemed  his  words  and  the  manner 
of  his  speaking. 

Therewith  the  Mote  brake  up,  and  the  men 
were  busy  arraying  them  for  departure  :  and  as  for 
Osberne,  he  had  his  hands  full  of  work,  in  giving 
and  taking  commandments,  and  in  learning  from 
Sir  Medard  the  beginnings  of  the  lore  of  battle, 
so  that  what  hopes  he  had  of  making  his  way  to 
the  trysting-place  once  more  were  speedily  swept 
aside.  And  the  next  morning  betimes  they  set 
out  together,  the  Dalesmen  and  the  East  Cheapers, 
in  all  good  fellowship,  and  in  two  days'  time  came 
to  East  Cheaping;  and  there  were  the  Dalesmen 
welcomed  dearly,  and  they  were  lodged  full  well 
by  the  crafts-masters  of  the  good  town.  But  Sir 
Medard  took  Osberne  with  him  up  into  the  Castle 
and  guested  him  there,  that  he  might  the  closer 
teach  him  his  new  craft,  and  an  apt  scholar  he 
found.  Also  from  the  morrow  after  their  coming, 
the  captain,  by  bidding  of  the  Porte,  furnished 
and  arrayed  the  Dalesmen  with  weapons,  as  long 
spears  and  good  swords  and  bows  and  arrows,  and 
jacks  and  sallets  and  shields,  and  they  went  out 
into  the  mead  under  the  Castle  to  be  better  as- 
sured thereby,  and  fell  to  learning  how  best  to 
handle  their  weapons.  And  both  their  captains 
and  they  themselves  deemed  it  best  that  they 
should  fight  a-foot ;  for  though  they  were  good 
horsemen  after  their  fashion,  they  would  have  to 
learn  all  in  the  craft  of  fighting  a-horseback. 


CHAPTER  XXIV.  A  SKIRMISH  WITH 
THE  BARON  OF  DEEPDALE  IN  THE 
MARSHES. 

NOW  I  have  nought  to  do  to  write  a  chron- 
icle of  the  good  town  of  East  Cheaping, 
or  a  history  of  this  war  of  them  of  the 
town  with  the  Baron  of  Deepdale,  or  else  a  long 
tale  I  might  make  of  it.  So  here  follows  all  that 
shall  be  told  of  the  said  war.  In  somewhat  less 
than  a  month  from  their  coming  to  East  Cheap- 
ing they  had  sure  news  that  the  Baron  was  on  the 
way  to  the  town  with  a  great  company  of  knights 
and  men-at-arms ;  and  thereafter  it  was  known 
that  he  was  riding  with  a  light  heart  and  little  heed. 
Wherefore  Sir  Medard  turned  the  matter  over  in 
his  mind,  and,  whereas  if  any  one  knew  well  the 
roads  and  the  fields  about  East  Cheaping,  he.  Sir 
Medard,  knew  them  better,  he  deemed  he  might 
give  this  great  lord  a  brush  by  the  way.  So  he 
rode  out-a-gates  with  but  a  small  company  of 
men-at-arms,  five  score  to  wit,  all  in  white  armour, 
and  rides  with  them  along  the  causeway.  But 
early  in  the  night,  ere  he  set  out,  he  had  bidden  a 
twelve  score  footmen  make  their  way  quietly  in 
knots  of  five  and  ten  and  thereabout  to  a  certain 
place  fifteen  miles  as  the  highway  led  from  East 
Cheaping,  where  the  said  causeway,  craftily  made, 
went  high  over  a  marish  place  much  beset  with 
willow  and  alder,  an  evil  place  for  the  going  of 
heavily-laded  horses.      But  of  these  same  footmen, 


126  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

some  half  had  bows,  and  the  rest  spears  and 
swords  ;  all  the  Dalesmen  went  with  these,  and 
Osberne  was  the  captain  of  the  whole  company, 
but  with  him  was  an  old  grey-beard,  a  sergeant 
tried  in  many  wars,  and  a  guileful  man  therein, 
and  to  him  and  Osberne  Sir  Medard  showed  what 
should  be  done. 

So  now  the  Baron  and  his  came  riding  along 
the  causeway,  ten  hundreds  of  men  in  all,  lightly 
and  in  merry  fashion,  for  they  had  said  that  they 
would  go  knock  at  the  door  of  East  Cheaping  and 
see  what  the  carles  were  about  there  ;  and  it  was 
hard  on  noon.  And  first  came  riding  an  hundred 
or  so  of  tall  men  well  armed  in  white  armour,  their 
basnets  new  tinned ;  and  they  came  to  a  certain 
place  where  on  either  side  was  abundance  of  thick 
alder  bush  and  the  ground  soft  between,  and  there 
was  the  causeway  wider  by  a  spear-length  than  its 
wont  for  some  two  score  yards.  Well,  this  hun- 
dred passed  by  on  their  way,  but  when  they  were 
clean  out  of  sight,  and  the  next  company  not  yet 
come,  up  rise  a  half  dozen  of  men  from  out  the 
alders  on  either  side,  and  come  on  to  the  cause- 
way :  they  are  clad  in  homespun  coats  and  hoods, 
though  if  any  had  looked  closely  he  had  seen 
hauberks  and  steel  hoods  under  the  cloth.  These 
men  lay  some  things  down  on  the  causeway  in  the 
very  midst  between  the  narrows,  and  then  get 
them  back  into  the  marsh  again.  No  sooner  are 
they  gone  but  there  comes  the  sound  of  weaponed 
men  going,  and  presently  there  is  the  head  of  a 
much   bigger   company   coming   on   to   the  wide 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  127 

space  betwixt  the  narrows,  three  hundreds  of  men 
at  least.  They  were  armed  and  mounted  as  well 
as  might  be,  but  kept  not  very  good  order.  When 
the  first  of  them  came  to  the  place  where  the 
marsh-lurkers  had  been,  they  found  lying  athwart 
the  causeway,  one  on  each  side,  two  dead  porkers, 
two  dead  dogs,  two  hares,  and  in  the  very  midst  a 
fox,  these  also  dead.  The  first  men  wonder  at 
this,  and  get  off  their  horses  and  handle  the  car- 
casses ;  then  they  call  others  to  look  at  them  ;  and 
some  deem  this  the  work  of  Dwarfs  or  Fairies  or 
such  like ;  and  others  say  this  is  a  sign  or  token 
of  the  up-country  folk  to  rise  upon  them,  and 
that  they  had  best  send  men  a-foot  to  search  the 
marsh  ;  and  others  that  they  should  send  tidings 
to  the  rearward  folk.  And  some  say  one  thing, 
some  another,  and  all  the  while  their  fellows 
are  thronging  into  the  wide  place  till  they  are  all 
crowded  together,  and  not  a  third  part  of  them 
know  what  has  befallen,  and  deem  that  something 
has  gone  amiss ;  and  the  rearward  fall  to  drawing 
their  swords  and  crying  out :  To  it,  to  it !  Slay, 
slay  !  Deepdale,  Deepdale  !  till  scarce  a  man  knew 
his  right  hand  from  his  left. 

But  amidst  all  this  turmoil  a  great  voice,  and 
it  was  Stephen  the  Eater,  cried  out  from  the 
marsh  at  the  right  hand  :  Go  back,  ye  swine,  to 
Deepdale.  Then  another  sang  out  from  the 
north:  If  ye  can,  ye  dead  dogs.  Then  Stephen 
again  :  This  time  ye  must  run  like  hares.  Learn 
lore  of  the  fox  next  time,  if  ye  can,  cried  the 
northern  voice.       And    even   therewith  was    the 


128  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

twanging  of  bow-strings  from  either  side,  and 
the  whistle  of  shafts  and  spears,  for  the  foemen 
were  near  enough,  and  men  and  horses  fell  hud- 
dling on  the  causeway,  and  the  shafts  rained  on 
without  abatement,  and  the  Deepdale  riders  were 
in  sorry  case  indeed  ;  and  many  of  them  were 
good  knights  well  tried  in  the  wars. 

Then  some  gat  off  their  horses  and  entered  the 
marsh,  and  found  no  better  hap  there,  for  they 
were  speedily  slain  by  axe  and  sword  of  the  East 
Cheapers ;  or  they  squatted  in  the  mire  and 
yielded  them  to  whomsoever  was  before  them, 
of  whom  Stephen  gat  a  good  knight  full-armed. 
But  Osberne  was  otherwhere.  For  some  of  the 
Baron's  men  spared  not  to  turn  their  backs  and 
ride  all  they  might  rearward  ;  but  they  went  but 
a  little  way  into  the  narrows  ere  they  saw  steel 
before  them,  and  there  across  the  causeway  stood 
the  company  of  the  Dalesmen,  even  such  as  were 
not  with  the  bowmen.  Desperately  they  drave 
at  them  ;  but  it  was  all  for  nought,  for  the  first 
four  fell,  they  and  their  horses,  before  the  long 
spears  of  the  Dalesmen,  and  the  others  were  cum- 
bered with  the  wounded  and  the  slain,  so  that 
they  might  not  come  on  a-horseback.  Howbeit, 
some  dismounted  and  fell  on  sword  in  hand. 
Then  forth  from  the  ranks  of  the  Dalesmen  came 
a  slim  warrior  in  a  long  hauberk  and  bright  bas- 
net and  a  shield  on  his  arm,  and  he  put  his  hand 
to  his  left  side  and  drew,  and  it  was  as  if  a  beam 
of  fell  blue  flame  flashed  in  the  sun  ;  and  he 
cried  out:  For  the  Dale  !   For  the  Dale!  Hasten, 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  129 

^ellows,  and  follow  on,  for  Board-cleaver  crieth 
or  a  life.  And  therewith  he  entered  among  the 
Deepdale  folk  and  smote  right  and  left,  and  with 
each  stroke  hewed  a  man,  and  they  fell  back  be- 
fore him ;  and  then  the  Dalesmen  were  by  his 
side  instead  of  the  foes,  and  still  he  went  forward 
and  men  fell  before  him,  and  still  came  on  the 
spears  of  the  Dalesmen  ;  and  now  all  they  of  Deep- 
dale,  whether  a-foot  or  on  horse-back,  turn  and 
flee  away  toward  the  place  of  the  first  slaughter. 

Then  Osberne  cried  to  his  men  :  Off  the  cause- 
way now,  all  ye  Dalesmen ;  these  ye  shall  not 
chase,  they  shall  fall  in  with  chasing  enough  anon  ; 
and  now  must  the  causeway  be  clear  of  all  but 
foemen  if  I  know  aught  of  Sir  Medard's  mind. 
Ye  have  done  well.  Therewith  he  gat  him  quietly 
from  off  the  causeway,  and  all  they  followed;  they 
went  but  a  little  way,  and  then  about  on  the  tus- 
socks around  the  alder  bushes,  and  turned  toward 
the  causeway  and  awaited  new  tidings. 

Speedily  they  befell ;  for  anon  they  heard  a 
confused  noise  of  crying  and  shouting,  and  thun- 
dering of  horse-hoofs,  and  clattering  of  weapons 
and  war-gear,  and  then  burst  out  from  a  corner 
of  the  causeway  all  the  throng  of  fleers,  spurring 
all  they  might,  weaponless,  many  of  them  jostling 
and  shoving  each  other,  so  that  every  now  and 
then  man  and  horse  fell  over  into  the  marsh  and 
wallowed  there,  till  the  Dalesmen  came  up  and  gave 
them  choice  of  death  or  rendering.  And  came 
great  cries  of:  East  Cheaping!  For  the  Porte  ! 
and   A   Medard,   a  Medard  !  and  the   riders   of 


130  THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD 

East  Cheaping  came  thrusting  among  the  fleers, 
and  with  the  first  of  the  chasers  was  Medard  him- 
self bareheaded,  so  that  all  might  know  him,  and 
after  him  his  banner  of  a  Tower  and  an  Eagle 
sitting  therein  ;  and  then  came  the  banner  of  the 
good  town,  to  wit,  three  Wool-packs  on  a  red 
ground  ;  and  then  the  rest  of  the  riders.  And  all 
that  went  by  in  a  minute  or  two  ;  and  thereafter 
came  the  bowmen,  all  bemired  with  the  marish 
waters,  but  talking  high  and  singing  for  joy.  Said 
Osberne :  Come  ye  now,  fellows,  and  join  our- 
selves to  these,  for  they  will  not  run  away  like 
to  the  horses.  Now  belike  has  Sir  Medard  done 
the  business,  so  we  may  follow  him  fair  and  softly. 
He  may  yet  have  somewhat  to  do,  quoth  a  man 
who  was  of  that  country  ;  for  in  a  while  this 
marish  ends,  and  the  causeway  comes  out  on  to 
fair  and  soft  meadows,  and  there  we  may  look  yet 
again  to  come  on  the  Baron  and  his.  Sooth  is 
that,  quoth  the  sergeant  from  amongst  the  bow- 
men on  the  causeway ;  yet  is  not  the  good 
Knight  so  hare-brained  as  not  to  abide  ere  he 
falls  on,  save  he  see  no  defence  in  what  is  left  of 
the  Baron's  array.  Ye  shall  see  ;  but  come  thou 
up.  Master  Osberne,  with  thy  Dalesmen,  and  let 
us  get  on  to  the  said  sunny  meads  out  of  this 
frog-city. 

So  Osberne  and  his  Dalesmen  scrambled  up, 
and  they  all  went  on  together  at  a  pretty  pace  ;  and 
Osberne  had  not  yet  sheathed  Board-cleaver,  but 
bore  him  on  his  shoulder  all  bloody  as  he  was. 
So  in  an  half  hour  they  saw  the  hard  meads  be- 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  131 

fore  them,  and  then  they  set  up  a  shout  and  ran 
all  together,  for  they  heard  the  noise  of  battle,  and 
saw  some  confused  runnhig  and  riding,  and  knew 
not  what  it  might  mean.  So  on  they  ran,  till  they 
had  come  up  on  to  the  crown  of  a  long  but  low 
ridge  whence  they  might  see  the  whole  plain,  and 
straightway  they  set  up  the  whoop  of  victory.  For- 
sooth what  they  beheld  was  the  two  banners  of 
Sir  Medard  and  the  Porte  following  on  the  last 
of  the  fleers,  and  beyond  them  the  whole  host  of 
the  Baron  fleeing  away  as  men  discomfited  ;  so 
they  rested  to  catch  their  breath  on  the  top  of 
the  ridge,  and  of  all  of  them  that  went  out  from 
East  Cheaping  the  night  before  there  was  not  one 
man  lacking.  Then  they  set  off  again  toward 
the  battle,  their  weapons  on  their  shoulders  and 
their  horns  blowing ;  and  they  went  speedily, 
and  presently  they  saw  that  Sir  Medard  and  his 
had  slacked  in  the  chase  and  were  standing  to- 
gether about  the  banners  with  their  faces  to  the 
foe.  Wherefore  they  also  went  slower,  and  they 
met  together  with  many  glad  cries ;  and  then 
Osberne  came  to  Sir  Medard  and  hailed  him 
joyfully,  and  therewith  thrust  Board-cleaver  back 
into  the  sheath  and  said :  Meseemeth,  Captain, 
that  the  battle  is  done.  But  came  their  whole 
host  to  flee  away  ?  Said  Sir  Medard  :  We  drove 
the  rout  along  the  causeway,  and  they,  when  they 
came  on  to  the  hard  meadow,  might  not  stay 
them ;  and  the  rest,  who  saw  them  coming  on 
the  spur  and  our  banners  in  the  chase,  knew  not 
how  many  or  how  few  were  following  on  them, 


132  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

and  they  turned  also,  deeming  they  were  safest  at 
home.  And  so  now  we  will  gather  the  spoil  to- 
gether and  wend  fair  and  softly  back  to  East 
Cheaping. 

Even  so  they  did,  and  great  spoil  they  gathered  ; 
and  all  the  footmen  gat  them  horses  and  rode 
with  the  others,  so  that  they  all  came  back  safe 
to  the  good  town  before  sunset.  Thus  ended  the 
first  riding  of  the  Baron  of  Deepdale. 


CHAPTER  XXV.  STEPHEN  TELLS 
OF  AN  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  CAMP 
OF   THE   FOEMEN. 

THEREAFTER  the  Baron  gathered  his 
men  again,  and  rode  abroad  divers  times 
in  the  summer  and  autumn,  and  was 
now  gotten  warier,  so  that  he  gat  no  great  over- 
throw. Yet  was  he  often  met  by  them  of  East 
Cheaping,  and  not  seldom  had  the  worse.  Os- 
berne  and  his  were  in  the  field  as  oft  as  any,  and 
gave  and  took,  but  ever  showed  them  valiant. 
Osberne  was  hurt  twice,  but  not  sorely  ;  and  ever 
he  waxed  in  manhood,  and  was  well  accounted  of 
by  all  men ;  and  the  Dalesmen  began  to  be  well 
known  to  them  of  Deepdale,  and  were  a  terror  to 
them. 

Thus  wore  summer  and  autumn,  and  Osberne 
saw  no  face  of  the  hope  of  getting  home  to  the 
Dale  before  spring.  The  winter  came  early,  and 
was  with  much  frost  and  snow,  and  they  of  East 
Cheaping  kept  them  within  their  walls  perforce, 
but  they  held  the  Yule-feast  merrily  and  with 
good  heart. 

When  winter  was  gone  and  the  snow  and  the 
floods,  and  spring  was  come  again,  there  began 
anew  skirmishing  and  riding ;  and  now  one,  now 
the  other  prevailed  ;  and  Osberne  fell  to  learning 
all  the  feats  of  chivalry  under  Sir  Medard.  And 
in  one  fray  he  paid  his  master  back  for  the  learn- 
ing, and  somewhat  more ;  for  the  Knight  thrust 


134  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

too  far  forth  among  the  foemen,  and  was  unhorsed 
and  set  on  by  many ;  and  had  not  Osberne  been 
nigh,  who  bestrode  him  with  Board-cleaver  in  his 
fist,  and  thrust  and  hewed  all  around  till  some  of 
theirs  came  up  to  help,  the  good  town  had  lost 
its  captain.  So  he  rehorsed  Sir  Medard,  and 
somewhat  hardly  they  came  forth  of  the  throng, 
and  were  not  ill  beaten  that  day. 

But  when  May  was,  the  Baron  of  Deepdale 
had  waxed  so  mighty  that  he  gathered  a  great 
host  together,  and  came  therewith  against  East 
Cheaping,  so  that  they  had  nought  to  do  save 
draw  within  their  walls :  and  the  Baron  sent  a 
herald,  and  bade  thereby  yield  them,  on  such 
terms,  over  and  above  paying  their  truage  accord- 
ing to  his  will,  that  they  should  batter  down  their 
walls,  and  take  his  men  into  their  castle  and  have 
his  burgreve  over  them,  and  moreover  that  they 
give  over  ten  of  their  best  to  his  mercy.  This 
challenge  they  nay-said  in  few  words,  for  the 
town  was  well  victualled  and  manned.  Where- 
fore on  the  morrow  early  the  Baron  assailed  the 
walls  with  many  men,  but  gat  nothing  thereby 
save  loss  of  good  men ;  and  the  assault  over, 
Medard  and  his  opened  the  gates  and  went  forth 
on  the  foemen  while  they  were  yet  in  disarray, 
and  won  much  and  lost  little. 

Thereafter  the  Baron  assailed  the  walls  no 
more,  but  cast  a  dyke  about  the  town  and  sat 
down  before  it;  and  he  had  abundance  of  victual 
coming  in  to  him  from  his  country-side,  so  that 
his  men  lacked  nothing.     But  whereas  his  dyke 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  135 

and  the  towers  of  earth  and  timber  which  he  let 
build  thereon  were  scarce  manned  so  well  as  they 
should  have  been,  because  there  was  so  much  of 
them,  the  East  Cheapers  did  not  leave  them 
wholly  in  quiet,  but  fell  on  oft  and  hard,  and 
slew  the  Baron  many  men  and  did  him  much 
scathe.  And  men  in  the  town  were  in  good 
heart,  and  said  one  to  the  other,  that  if  things 
went  no  worse  than  this  they  might  hold  out 
merrily  till  winter  should  break  upon  the  leaguer. 
But  in  the  last  of  these  skirmishes  Osberne  was 
hurt  sorely,  and  though  he  was  brought  off  by 
his  fellows,  and  lost  not  Board-cleaver,  as  well- 
nigh  betid,  he  must  needs  keep  his  bed  some- 
what more  than  a  full  month  ere  he  was  well 
healed. 

But  on  a  day  in  September,  when  he  was  much 
amended  and  was  growing  strong  again,  came  to 
him  Stephen,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  some 
days,  and  seeing  that  there  was  no  man  in  the 
chamber  save  they  two,  spake  to  him  and  said : 
Captain,  I  would  have  a  word  with  thee  if  I 
, might.  Said  Osberne:  Speech  is  free  to  thee, 
Stephen.  And  the  Eater  said  :  I  have  been  out- 
a-gates  of  late,  for  I  deemed  that  if  I  might  find 
adventures  it  would  be  for  thy  health.  Cald 
Osberne,  laughing :  Yet  maybe  not  for  thine, 
Stephen.  I  were  loth  to  come  to  Wethermel 
without  thee.  Said  Stephen  :  At  this  rate  it  may 
be  long  ere  we  come  to  Wethermel.  1  would  we 
might  hasten  the  home-coming,  said  Osberne, 
knitting  his  brows,  but  I  wot  not  how  that  may 


136  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

be  since  the  Baron  is  yet  so  strong.  Ah,  but  I 
have  a  deeming  how  it  may  be  done,  said  Stephen, 
but  there  is  peril  in  it.  Osberne  stood  up  and 
said:  What  hast  thou  been  about,  runagate.? 
Master,  said  he,  I  will  tell  thee.  Five  nights 
ago  I  did  on  raiment  of  the  fashion  of  them 
beyond  Deepdale,  and  I  had  with  me  a  fiddle, 
and  was  in  manner  of  a  minstrel ;  and  thou  wot- 
test  that  I  am  not  so  evil  a  gut-scraper,  and  that 
I  have  many  tales  and  old  rhymes  to  hand, 
though  I  am  no  scald  as  thou  art.  Well,  I  got 
out-a-gates  a-night-tide  by  the  postern  on  the 
nook  of  the  south-east  tower,  the  warden  whereof 
is  a  friend  of  mine  own,  and  bade  him  expect  me 
by  midnight  of  the  third  day ;  and  then  by  night 
and  cloud  I  contrived  it  to  skirt  the  dyke  and 
get  me  about  till  I  came  north-west  of  our  north 
gate,  and  then  somehow  I  got  up  over  the  dyke, 
which  is  low  there  and  was  not  guarded  as  then, 
and  in  a  nook  I  lay  still  till  morning  came.  And 
there  I  let  myself  be  found  by  one  of  the  warders, 
and  when  he  kicked  me  and  challenged  me,  I 
told  him  what  I  would  as  to  myself,  and  he 
trowed  it,  and  he  brought  me  to  his  fellows,  who, 
a  five  of  them,  were  cooking  their  breakfast,  and 
they  gave  me  victual  and  bade  me  play  and  sing 
for  their  disport,  and  I  did  so,  and  pleased  them. 
Thereafter  one  of  them  took  me  along  with  him 
toward  the  west  side  of  the  dyke,  and  I  played 
and  sang ;  and  so,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  I 
worked  round  the  dyke  that  day  till  I  was  come 
to  the  south  side  of  the  leaguer,  and  there  I  lay 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  137 

that  night  in  good  entertainment ;  but  on  the 
morrow  I  went  on  my  way,  and  before  evening  I 
had  come  back  again  to  the  north-west,  just 
where  I  had  started  from.  There  I  fell  in  with 
the  man-at-arms  who  had  kicked  me  up  the 
morning  before,  and  he  fell  to  speech  with  me, 
and  showed  me  many  things,  and  amongst  others 
the  Great  Bastide  wherein,  said  he,  the  Baron 
of  Deepdale  was  lodged,  and  that  it  was  little 
guarded,  which  mattered  nothing  by  day,  but  by 
night  he  deemed  it  something  rash  of  the  Baron 
to  suffer  so  few  men  of  his  anigh  him.  Now 
while  we  spake  together  thus  there  was  a  stir 
about  us,  and  we  and  others  rose  up  from  the 
grass  where  we  were  lying,  and  lo  it  was  the 
Baron  who  was  come  amongst  us,  so  we  all  did 
him  reverence.  He  was  a  dark  man,  rather  little 
than  big,  but  wiry  and  hard-bitten ;  keen  and 
eager  of  face,  yet  was  there  something  lordly 
about  his  bearing.  As  luck  would  have  it  he 
came  straight  to  where  we  stood  together,  and 
stayed  to  look  upon  me  as  something  unwonted 
to  him,  for  I  was  wholly  unarmed,  save  for  a 
little  knife  in  my  girdle;  and  I  was  clad  in  a 
black  gown  and  a  cotehardy  of  green  sprigged 
with  tinsel,  and  had  my  fiddle  and  bow  at  my 
back.  We  louted  low  before  him,  and  he  spake 
to  my  friend  :  Is  this  big  fellow  a  minstrel?  Yea, 
lord,  said  the  other.  Said  the  Baron :  Looking 
at  his  inches,  'tis  a  pity  of  him  that  he  hath  not 
jack  and  sallet  and  a  spear  over  his  shoulder. 
How  sayest  thou,  carle ;  what  if  I   were  to   set 


138  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

thee  in  the  forefront  of  the  press  amongst  the 
very  knighthood?  Noble  lord,  quoth  I,  I  fear 
me  if  I  came  within  push  of  spear  thou  wouldst 
presently  see  me  running,  so  long  are  my  legs. 
I  am  a  big  man,  so  please  you,  great  lord,  but  I 
have  the  heart  of  a  hare  in  me.  He  looked  upon 
me  somewhat  grimly,  then  he  said :  Meseems 
thou  hast  a  fox's  tongue  in  thee,  carle,  and  I 
promise  thee  I  have  half  a  mind  to  it  to  hand 
thee  over  to  the  provost-marshal's  folk,  to  see 
what  they  could  make  of  whipping  thee.  Thou 
man-at-arms,  hast  thou  heard  him  lay  his  bow 
over  the  strings?  Yea,  lord,  said  the  man;  he 
playeth  not  ill  for  an  uplander.  Let  him  try  it 
now  before  us,  and  do  it  well  withal  if  he  would 
save  the  skin  of  his  back.  Speedily  I  had  my 
fiddle  in  my  hand,  and  fell  to,  and  if  I  played 
not  my  best,  I  played  at  least  something  better 
than  my  worst.  And  when  I  had  done,  the 
Baron  said  :  Friend,  how  many  such  tunes  canst 
thou  play?  and  canst  thou  sing  aught?  It  would 
not  be  so  easy  to  tell  up  the  tunes  I  can  play, 
lord,  said  I ;  and  sing  I  can  withal,  after  a  fashion. 
Said  the  Baron  to  the  man-at-arms :  Bring  thou 
this  man  to  my  lodging  to-night  some  two  hours 
before  midnight,  and  he  shall  play  and  sing  to  us, 
and  if  we  be  not  sleep-eager  he  shall  tell  us  some 
old  tale  also ;  and  I  will  reward  him.  And  thou, 
I  shall  not  make  thee  a  man-at-arms  this  time, 
though  trust  me,  I  misdoubt  thy  hare-heart. 
There  is  no  such  look  in  thine  eyes.  And  he 
turned  away  and  left  us.     So  we  wore  the  night 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  139 

merrily  enough  till  the  time  appointed,  what  with 
minstrelsy  and  some  deal  of  good  wine. 

To  the  Baron's  lodging  I  went,  which  was  not 
right  great,  but  hung  goodly  with  arras  of  Troy. 
And  I  had  the  luck  to  please  the  lord ;  for  I 
both  played  and  sang  somewhat  near  my  best. 
And  he  bade  give  me  a  handful  of  silver  pennies, 
though  I  must  needs  share  them  with  my  soldier 
friend,  unto  whom  the  lord  forgat  to  give  aught, 
and  bade  me  come  the  next  night  at  the  same 
time ;  which  I  did,  after  I  had  spent  the  day  in 
looking  into  everything  about  that  side  of  the 
leaguer.  But  when  I  came  forth  with  my  friend 
from  the  lord's  lodging  that  second  night,  and  I 
the  richer  therefor,  I  did  him  to  wit  that  the  next 
morning  early  I  should  take  my  soles  out  of  the 
leaguer  and  make  for  my  own  country,  whatever 
might  happen,  so  that  no  so  many  questions 
might  be  asked  if  I  were  missed  on  the  morrow, 
as  belike  I  was.  Well,  the  end  of  this  long  story 
is,  that  a  little  before  midnight  I  crept  away  and 
over  the  dyke  and  came  to  the  postern  and  my 
friend,  who  let  me  into  the  town,  and  here  I  am 
safe  and  sound.  Now,  Captain,  canst  thou  tell 
me  why  I  took  so  much  trouble  in  my  disport, 
with  no  little  peril  withal  ? 

Now  for  some  time  Osberne  had  been  walking 
to  and  fro  as  he  hearkened  to  the  tale,  and  now 
he  turned  about  sharply  to  Stephen  and  said  :  Yea, 
I  know;  thou  wilt  mean  it  in  a  day  or  two  that 
we  should  go,  we  two,  by  night  and  cloud  to  the 
Great  Bastide  and  carry  off  the  Baron  of  Deep- 


140  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

dale,  that  we  may  give  him  guesting  in  the  good 
town. 

Stephen  smote  his  palms  together  and  said : 
Wise  art  thou,  child  of  Wethermel ;  but  not  so 
wise  as  I  be.  We  shall  go,  we  two,  but  not  alone, 
but  have  with  us  four  stout  fellows,  and  of  wis- 
dom enough,  not  Dalesmen,  for  too  simple  are 
they  and  lack  guile.  To  say  sooth  I  have  chosen 
them  already,  and  told  them  how  we  shall  fare, 
and  they  are  all  agog  for  it. 

Well,  said  Osberne,  and  when  shall  it  be  ?  Of 
a  sooth  thou  lettest  no  grass  grow  under  thy  feet. 
But  hast  thou  told  any  one  else  ?  Said  Stephen  : 
To-morrow  night  is  the  time  appointed,  and  I 
have  bidden  my  friend  the  warder  of  the  postern 
to  hold  ready  a  score  of  men  well-armed  against 
the  hour  we  are  to  be  looked  for  to  knock  at  the 
door  with  our  guest,  if  so  be  that  we  should  need 
them,  but  I  have  not  told  him  what  we  are  about. 
Well  now,  what  sayest  thou  ?  Have  I  done  any- 
thing to  amend  thine  health  ?  Thou  hast  made 
me  whole  and  well,  friend,  said  Osberne  ;  and  now 
I  think  we  shall  soon  look  upon  Wethermel,  and 
I  shall  never  be  sick  or  sorry  again. 

The  Eater  smiled,  and  they  fell  to  talking  of 
other  matters  as  folk  came  into  the  chamber  to 
them ;  and  all  that  came  in  wondered  to  see  the 
captain  looking  so  much  mended  in  health. 


CHAPTER  XXVI.     THEY  BRING  THE 
BARON    INTO    EAST   CHEAPING. 

SO  on  the  morrow  just  before  midnight  came 
Osberne  and  Stephen  and  the  four  others 
to  the  postern  abovesaid.  Osberne  and 
the  four  were  clad,  over  their  armour,  in  frocks 
and  hoods  of  up-country  fashion  ;  but  Stephen 
was  in  his  minstrel's  raiment,  save  that  he  bore  no 
fiddle,  and  had  a  heavy  short  sword  girt  to  him 
under  his  cotehardy.  The  night  was  moonless, 
but  there  was  little  cloud,  so  that  there  was  a 
glimmer  of  starlight.  As  they  opened  the  door 
came  forth  from  the  ingle  a  tall  man,  unarmed  as 
it  seemed,  and  clad  as  a  gangrel  carle,  and  Stephen 
without  more  ado  stretched  out  his  long  arm  and 
caught  him  by  the  breast  of  his  coat.  The  man 
stirred  not  nor  strove,  but  said  softly  i  Dost  thou 
not  know  me,  Stephen  the  Eater?  I  come  to  see 
the  child  of  Wethermel ;  he  shall  know  me  by 
the  token  of  the  Imposition  of  Hands.  And  I 
am  come  to  help  him  and  all  you.  That  heard 
Osberne  and  spake  softly  to  the  others  :  This  is 
a  friend  and  a  stout-heart ;  he  shall  be  of  all  avail 
to  us.  Speak  not,  said  Stephen,  but  hold  we  on, 
and  go  crouching  till  we  be  under  the  lee  of  the 
dyke.  Even  so  did  they,  and  Stephen  led  the 
way,  but  Osberne  came  next  and  Steelhead  with 
him ;  they  spake  not  together,  but  Osberne  felt 
the  stronger  for  having  him  beside  him,  and  his 
heart  was  full  of  joy. 


142  THE   SUNDERING  FLOOD 

So  they  clomb  the  dyke,  and  as  they  topped  it 
they  saw  a  weaponed  man  on  his  feet  betwixt  them 
and  the  sky.  Stephen  stood  up  straightway  and 
fell  a-whistling  a  merry  tune,  but  softly  enough, 
while  he  made  a  sign  to  the  others  to  fetch  a  com- 
pass and  go  creeping  past  this  man.  So  did  they, 
while  Stephen  and  the  warder  walked  toward  one 
another ;  but  so  soon  as  they  met,  the  warder 
knew  his  friend,  and  hailed  him  and  said :  Well, 
minstrel,  thou  art  back  again  pretty  soon  ;  what 
is  toward,  man  ?  Said  Stephen :  Sooth  to  say,  I 
went  not  all  the  way  home ;  for  it  came  into  my 
mind  that  maybe  the  Baron  might  call  for  me 
again  ;  and  when  it  rains  florins  I  am  fain  to  have 
my  hat  under  the  spout.  Said  the  warder  :  Thou 
art  come  in  time,  for  the  Baron  is  somewhat  ail- 
ing, and  whiles  he  sleeps  not  well  a-nights  ;  it  was 
but  last  night  when  it  was  so,  and  he  sends  for 
me  and  asks  me  of  thee,  and  biddeth  me  fetch 
thee  ;  and  St.  Peter  !  the  uproar  when  I  told  him 
that  thou  wert  gone ;  and  it  was  hardly  that  I  es- 
caped a  whipcord  supper.  Howsoever,  his  wrath 
ran  off  him  in  a  little,  and  then  he  bade  me  look 
out  for  thee,  and  if  I  find  thee  I  am  to  bring  thee 
to  him  at  any  hour  of  day  or  night  wherein  the 
armour  is  off  him  :  wherefore,  see  thou,  in  happy 
hour  art  thou  come.  So  abide  me  till  I  go  and 
fetch  a  fellow  to  keep  my  watch,  and  then  will  I 
go  on  with  thee  to  my  lord.  Wait  awhile,  said 
Stephen  ;  to  say  sooth  I  have  hereby  an  old  carle, 
my  uncle,  and  his  son,  a  young  swain,  and  both 
they  are  good  at  song,  and  the  older  man  a  very 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  I43 

poke  stuffed  full  of  old  tales :  how  were  it  if  I 
brought  them  along?  It  were  good,  said  the 
warder,  for  it  shall,  see  thou,  make  a  change  of 
disport  for  our  lord,  and  that  will  please  him  the 
more.  So  go  now,  bring  up  hither  thy  kinsmen, 
and  I  will  see  to  my  watch  and  we  will  meet  here 
straightway. 

So  then  Stephen  went  to  his  folk,  who  were 
creeping  nigher  and  nigher  to  the  Great  Bastide, 
and  were  as  now  in  broken  ground  somewhat 
bushed,  a  good  lurking-place  to  wit.  There  he 
finds  them,  and  bids  the  four  abide  their  coming 
back  with  their  prey,  which  now  he  nowise  doubted 
of,  and  takes  Steelhead  and  Osberne  along  with 
him,  and  so  brings  them  to  the  warder;  who 
laughed  when  he  saw  Steelhead,  for  he  went  for 
that  time  all  bent  and  bowed,  and,  as  he  deemed 
by  what  he  could  see  under  the  dim  sky,  ragged 
and  wretched.  Said  he :  Minstrel,  thou  wert 
scarce  in  luck  to  happen  on  this  rag  of  a  kins- 
man of  thine.  Hast  thou  no  better  man  ?  Said 
Stephen,  grinning  in  the  dark  :  Abide  till  ye  have 
proved  him.  Trust  me,  he  hath  something  bet- 
ter than  sour  curds  in  his  belly.  Well,  said  the 
warder,  let-a-be !  As  for  the  young  man,  he 
seems  like  enough.  Now  then,  fellow,  for  a  pull 
at  the  florin-tree. 

So  they  went,  the  four  of  them,  toward  the 
Great  Bastide,  and  none  hindered  them,  deeming 
that  they  were  of  the  service  of  the  Baron.  Even 
at  the  door  of  the  Baron's  lodging  the  warder, 
there   was   but   one   and   a   chamberlain,  nodded 


144  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

friendly  to  the  soldier,  and  let  them  pass  unques- 
tioned. They  entered  the  chamber,  wherein  now 
was  no  man,  as  the  Baron  would  have  it  whenas 
he  listed  to  sleep.  The  soldier  went  forward  on 
tip-toe,  but  Stephen  trod  heavily,  and  Steelhead 
laughed  aloud,  and  went  straight  up  to  the  great 
man's  bed-head,  and  fared  to  pass  his  hand  over 
his  face  from  his  forehead  to  his  chin,  just  touch- 
ing him,  but  the  sleeping  man  waked  not.  As 
for  Osberne,  he  stood  betwixt  the  door  and  the 
soldier,  and  drew  his  sword  forth  from  under  his 
carter's  frock,  but  it  was  not  Board-cleaver,  for  he 
had  left  him  at  home.  The  soldier  looked  from 
one  to  another,  and  stared  astonished  at  their  de- 
meanour. Straightway  then  he  had  both  Stephen 
and  Osberne  on  him  at  once,  nor  had  he  any 
senses  nor  might  to  strive  with  them,  who  stripped 
his  coat  off  over  his  head,  gagged  him,  and  tied 
him  hand  and  foot.  By  then  they  had  done  this, 
Steelhead  had  taken  up  the  naked  Baron  and  set 
some  of  the  warder's  raiment  on  him,  and  done 
on  him  the  said  warder's  coat  and  sallet  over  all ; 
and  there  stood  the  man  of  worship,  waked  up 
now,  as  it  seemed,  but  looked  before  him  as  if  he 
saw  naught,  even  as  a  man  who  walks  in  sleep. 
Stephen  in  the  meantime  unstrung  his  fiddle  and 
began  to  play  a  slow  sweet  tune  thereon,  and  let 
his  big  but  melodious  voice  go  with  it,  and  thus 
they  brought  the  lordship  of  Deepdale  to  the 
door ;  and  still  he  seemed  of  no  avail,  save  to 
walk  on  as  Steelhead  would  have  him.  So  out 
they  fared,   and   none  hindered   them  any  more 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  145 

than  when  they  went  in  ;  and  they  came  to  the 
bushed  ground  where  lay  the  four  townsmen  and 
stirred  them,  and  so  went  on  all  seven  with  their 
new  fellow  the  Baron,  who  still  walked  like  a  man 
in  his  sleep. 

They  made  a  compass  about  the  warder  who 
had  taken  the  place  of  Stephen's  friend,  so  that 
he  might  not  challenge  them,  and  came  fair  and 
softly  to  the  dyke,  and  thereafter  to  the  postern. 
There  Stephen  knocked  after  the  manner  ap- 
pointed, and  the  door  opened  and  showed  the 
passage  all  full  of  armed  men.  But  Stephen 
cried  out :  All 's  well,  friend  Dickon,  and  there 
shall  be  no  sally  out  to-night,  only  take  us  in 
and  bring  me  and  Captain  Osberne  to  Sir  Me- 
dard,  for  we  have  somewhat  to  show  him.  So 
they  gat  them  into  the  town,  they  and  their  new 
guest ;  but  ere  the  door  was  shut,  Steelhead  took 
Osberne  by  the  skirt  and  drew  him  a  little  aside, 
and  said  :  Lad  of  Wethermel,  in  all  ways  hast 
thou  shown  thy  valiancy,  and  I  am  glad  of  thee. 
Now  I  have  come  from  the  hill-sides  and  the 
crannies  of  the  rocks  to  look  upon  thee,  and  I 
must  get  me  back  at  once  for  within  a  builded 
town  I  may  not  be.  But  I  can  see  that  it  will 
not  be  long  till  we  meet  in  the  mountains.  So  I 
tell  thee,  when  thou  deemest  thy  need  and  thy 
grief  to  be  as  great  as  it  may  be,  hie  thou  to  the 
little  dale  where  first  we  met,  and  call  on  me  by 
the  token  of  the  bow  I  gave  thee  then,  and  pres- 
ently thou  shalt  have  tidings :  now  farewell.  Yea, 
but  hold,  said  Osberne ;  wilt  thou  not  enter,  even 


10 


146  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

if  it  be  to  go  forth  at  once  by  another  gate  with 
much  company  ?  else  wilt  thou  be  tangled  amongst 
all  these  foemen.  Trouble  not  thyself  about  me, 
said  Steelhead ;  it  shall  not  be  hard  for  me  to  go 
where  I  will  in  despite  of  any  foeman. 


CHAPTER   XXVII.     THEY  PARLEY 
FROM    THE   WALLS. 

THEREWITH  he  was  gone  and  Osberne 
entered  the  town  after  his   fellows,  and 
the  Baron  of  Deepdale  was  brought  to 
Sir    Medard    in    the    great    tower.      There    they 
would  have  served  him  with  all  honour,  but  he 
was  not  yet  come  out  of  that  trance ;  so  they  laid 
him  to  rest  in  Sir  Medard's  own  bed,  and  had 
warders  both  within  the  chamber  and   without ; 
and    Osberne   sat   talking   with    Sir   Medard   in 
the  said  chamber  till  dawn  was,  when  the  Baron 
awoke  really  and  fairly,  and  called  for  drink.     Sir 
Medard  brought  it  unto  him  with  his  own  hand, 
and  the  Baron  stared  at  him  and  said :  Art  thou 
of  the  service  to-night  ?    I  know  thee  not.   Quoth 
Sir  Medard :  And  yet  we  have  been  near  enough 
together    ere    this.   Lord    Baron ;    thou  shouldst 
know  me,  meseems.     The   Baron   looked    hard 
on  him  and  then  round  about  the  chamber,  and 
cried  out :  Holy  Mary  !  't  is  Medard  the  carle- 
leader.     Where   am    I ,?    and   where   is   the  evil 
beast  of  a   minstrel  ?     Hath    he    beguiled    me  ? 
Said   Medard :   Lord,    at   this    present   thou    art 
in  a  chamber  of  my  poor  house  in  East  Cheaping. 
Doubtless   to-morrow,  after  we   have   had   some 
talk   together,  thou  and  I   and  the   Porte,   thou 
mayest  go  back  home  to  Deepdale,  or  abide  here 
awhile  to  see  how  we  can  feast,  we  carle-warriors, 
and  to  be  holden  in  all  honour. 


148  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Now  came  forth  Stephen  the  Eater  and  said : 
Lord,  lo  here  the  evil  beast  of  a  minstrel  who 
hath  verily  beguiled  thee  ;   but,  Baron,  it  is   to 
thy  gain  and  not  thy  loss.      For  to-morrow  shall 
the  war  be  ended,  and  thou  shalt  be  free  to  go 
back  again  to  the  fair  women  of  Deepdale  whom 
thou  lovest  so  much,  and  shalt  save  thy  men-at- 
arms,  and  thy  weapons  and  tents  and  timber,  and 
victuals  and  drink  a  great  heap ;  and  all  this  I 
deem,  and  more  maybe,  wouldst  thou  have  lost 
hadst  thou  gone  on  sitting  perversely  before  East 
Cheaping  all  for  nought.    So  I  will  not  say  pardon 
me,  but  make  friends  with  me  rather  for  being 
good  to  thee.     And  therewith  he  reached  out  his 
great  hand  to  the  Baron ;  but  Osberne  drew  him 
back  by  the  girdle,  and  chid  him  for  mocking  a 
captive,  while  the  Baron  turned  his  face  to  the  wall 
and  covered  up  his  head  with  the  bed-clothes. 

But  ye  may  judge  if  there  were  riding  and  run- 
ning in  the  leaguer  next  morning  when  they 
could  find  the  Baron  nowhere ;  and  one  said  this 
and  the  other  that ;  and  he  cried  Kill  and  slay, 
and  he  cried  Flee  ere  we  all  come  to  like  end ; 
and  great  was  the  doubt  and  the  turmoil.  Amidst 
of  which  comes  Sir  Medard  on  to  the  battlement 
of  the  north-west  tower,  and  beside  him  a  squire 
bearing  a  white  banner,  and  a  herald  with  a 
trumpet,  which  herald  presently  blew  a  loud 
blast,  but  such  an  one  as  sounded  not  of  war  but 
of  parley.  So  when  the  captains  and  leaders 
heard  the  said  blast  and  saw  the  white  banner  of 
peace,  they  deemed  that  new  tidings  were  toward. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  149 

and  a  half  score  of  them  crossed  over  their  dyke 
bearing  a  white  banner  with  them,  and  came  close 
under  the  tower  whereon  stood  Sir  Medard ;  and 
the  chiefest  of  them,  an  old  hoar  man  and  very- 
wise,  hight  Sir  Degore,  stood  before  the  others 
all  unhelmed  and  said  :  Is  it  Sir  Medard  that 
standeth  up  there  ?  Yea  verily,  said  the  Knight ; 
and  what  art  thou  ?  art  thou  a  leader  of  the  host 
that  sitteth  about  us  ?  Said  the  other :  I  am  Sir 
Degore,  of  whom  thou  wilt  have  heard ;  under 
my  lord  the  Baron  of  Deepdale  I  am  the  leader 
of  this  host.  And  I  have  come  to  ask  what  thou 
wouldst  of  us.  Said  Sir  Medard :  I  would  see 
the  Baron  of  Deepdale.  He  is  sick  this  morn- 
ing, said  Sir  Degore,  and  may  not  rise ;  but  if 
thou  wouldst  render  the  town  and  the  castle  unto 
him,  it  is  all  one,  thou  mayest  make  me  serve  thy 
turn ;  I  know  his  mind  full  well.  Sir  Medard 
laughed :  Nay,  said  he,  we  will  wait  for  that  till 
we  may  see  the  Baron  himself  But  tell  me,  Sir 
Knight,  what  is  all  this  stir  and  hubbub  in  thine 
host  this  morning  ^  Said  Sir  Degore,  without 
tarrying  the  word  one  moment :  There  is  a  great 
aid  and  refreshment  come  to  us  out  of  the  East 
Country,  both  of  victual  and  men,  and  our  folk 
be  welcoming  the  men  and  sharing  the  victual. 
There  is  nothing  in  this  then  that  we  have  heard, 
that  ye  cannot  find  your  Duke,  and  are  seeking 
him  up  and  down  ?  Nay,  nothing,  said  the  grey- 
beard, wagging  his  head.  But  the  folk  that  were 
with  him  looked  on  each  other  and  thought 
within   themselves   how  wise   the  old   man   was. 


150  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

And  Sir  Medard  spake  when  he  might  for  his 
laughter :  Sir,  thy  lord  did  well  to  make  thee 
captain  under  him,  for  thou  art  a  wise  and  ready 
liar.  But  so  it  is  that  thou  speakest  with  one 
who  knoweth  the  tale  better  than  thou.  Ho  ye, 
bring  forward  my  lord.  Straightway  came  two 
squires,  who  led  a  lean  dark  man  between  them, 
unarmed,  and  clad  in  a  long  furred  black  gown. 
He  took  off  his  hat,  and  thereupon  Sir  Degore 
and  all  they  below  knew  him  for  their  lord. 
He  spake  at  once  and  said:  Sir  Degore  and  ye 
others,  my  lords  and  captains,  can  ye  hear  me? 
Yea,  lord,  said  Sir  Degore.  Then  said  the  Baron  : 
This  then  is  my  word  and  commandment,  that 
ye  give  leave  to  all  our  folk-in-arms  to  depart 
each  one  to  his  own  house,  and  to  bear  away  with 
him  his  weapons  and  armour  and  three  horses  if 
he  be  of  the  knighthood,  and  one  if  he  be  of  the 
sergeantry  ;  but  the  others,  archers  and  villeins, 
may  take  one  horse  between  three  to  bear  their 
baggage  and  ease  them  on  the  journey.  But  the 
flour  and  wheat  and  wine,  and  all  the  neat  and 
sheep,  ye  shall  leave  behind ;  for  the  folk  of  this 
country-side  and  the  good  town  have  occasion 
for  them.  But  as  to  mine  own  matters  which 
are  of  mine  own  person,  as  arms  and  raiment  and 
jewels  and  the  like,  ye  shall  bring  them  unto  me 
here  in  the  good  town,  where  I  am  minded  to 
abide  two  or  three  days  that  I  may  hold  counsel 
about  weighty  matters  with  the  Porte  and  the 
burgreve.  Moreover,  I  would  have  thee.  Sir 
Degore,  and  a  five  of  my  counsellors  and  a  half 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  151 

score  of  my  servants,  come  hither  to  me  to  abide 
with  me  for  my  aid  and  service  while  I  tarry  in 
East  Cheaping.  Now  this  is  my  will  and  pleas- 
ure, and  I  shall  be  no  wiser  later  on  ;  wherefore 
do  thou,  Sir  Degore,  go  straightway  and  tell  my 
will  to  the  captains  and  sergeants  and  the  knights, 
so  that  the  hosts  may  presently  break,  up. 

Ye  may  deem  how  Sir  Degore  and  the  other 
Deepdalers  were  abashed  when  they  knew  that 
their  lord  was  a  captive  in  the  hands  of  the  foe- 
men;  yet  they  seemed  to  think  that  the  terms  of 
the  good  town  were  not  so  hard  as  might  have 
been  looked  for,  since  they  had  gotten  this  so 
great  advantage. 

Now  Sir  Degore  spake  and  said  :  Sir  Medard, 
wilt  thou  suffer  me  to  come  up  to  thee,  so  that 
I  may  speak  with  my  lord  privily  ?  To  what 
end,  said  Sir  Medard,  since  thou  hast  heard  thy 
lord's  commandment?  wilt  thou  not  obey  him? 
Yea,  said  Degore,  if  I  have  heard  his  last  word ; 
nevertheless  I  were  fain  to  come  up  and  speak 
with  him.  Come  up  then,  said  Sir  Medard;  yet 
I  must  warn  thee  that  it  may  be  easier  for  thee  to 
come  in  to  East  Cheaping  to-day  than  to  go  out 
therefrom.  Moreover,  bethink  ye  if  ye  dally 
how  it  would  be  were  we  to  open  our  gates  and 
fall  upon  you  with  all  ours,  and  ye  disarrayed  and 
leaderless. 

Therewith  he  gave  word  to  open  the  postern 
to  Sir  Degore,  who  entered  and  was  brought  to 
the  top  of  the  tower,  and  there  he  went  up  to 
the  Baron  and  bent  the  knee  to  him  and  might 


152  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

not  refrain  his  tears ;  but  the  Baron  laughed,  yet 
somewhat  hardly.  So  they  two  went  aside  into 
an  ingle  of  the  tower  toward  the  town,  while  Sir 
Medard  and  his  stood  aloof  awhile.  Then  turned 
back  Sir  Degore  to  them  of  East  Cheaping,  and 
said :  Sir  Medard,  I  pray  thee  leave  to  depart  to  my 
host,  that  I  may  do  after  the  bidding  of  my  lord. 
Yea,  go,  said  Sir  Medard  ;  yet  I  would  have  thee 
remember  that  I  pray  for  a  long  life  for  the  Baron 
of  Deepdale,  since  he  hath  become  so  good  a 
friend  to  our  town,  and  that  thou  wilt  be  in  the 
wrong  if  thou  do  aught  to  shorten  it. 

So  Degore  went  his  ways,  and  he  and  those 
counsellors  and  leaders  went  back  sadly  to  the 
leaguer,  and  fell  to  work  to  undo  all  they  had 
done  the  six  months  past.  And  it  was  no  long 
time  ere  the  stout  men-at-arms  of  Deepdale  began 
to  flow  away  from  before  East  Cheaping,  and  the 
men  of  the  town  held  good  watch  all  the  while  ; 
and  ere  it  was  evening  divers  bands  of  them  went 
out-of-gates  in  good  order  to  see  that  none  of  the 
Deepdalers  abode  in  array  in  the  leaguer,  and 
found  nothing  there  which  they  had  cause  to  dread. 
And  they  took  much  spoil  of  that  which  the 
Baron's  host  must  needs  leave  behind.  Mean- 
while Sir  Medard  and  his  made  what  cheer  they 
might  to  the  Baron ;  and  Sir  Medard  showed 
Osberne  unto  him,  and  told  him  all  the  tale  of 
the  wolves  and  the  slaying  of  Hardcastle,  and  did 
him  to  wit  that  much  of  the  valiancy  which  they 
of  East  Cheaping  had  shown  in  the  war  came  of 
this  lad  of  Wethermel.     And  the   Baron   mar- 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  1 53 

veiled,  and  looked  upon  Osberne  and  said :  Well, 
lad,  if  ever  thou  art  hard  bestead,  come  thou  to 
Deepdale,  and  we  shall  find  somewhat  for  thee  to 
do ;  and  I  bid  thee  thrive  hale  and  well.  How- 
beit  Sir  Medard  told  not  to  the  Baron  that  Os- 
berne had  been  one  of  them  that  bore  him  off  the 
last  night.  Yet  somehow  he  came  to  know  it  in 
time  to  come  ;  I  wot  not  through  whom  or  how. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII.     THE    BARON    OF 
DEEPDALE    MAKES   PEACE. 

SO  now  the  war  was  over,  for  the  next  day  the 
Baron  of  Deepdale  signed  the  deed  of  peace 
which  gave  up  to  the  Porte  of  East  Cheap- 
ing  all  that  for  which  they  had  withstood  him  ; 
and  withal  some  deal  of  ransom  he  had  to  pay 
for  his  own  body,  how  much  my  tale-teller  know- 
eth  not,  but  deemeth  that  they  would  scarce  put 
the  snepe  upon  him  as  to  bid  but  a  squire's  or 
knight-bachelor's  ransom  for  a  free  baron,  a  lord 
of  wide  lands,  who  had  under  him  towns,  tolls, 
and  markets. 

So  the  ransom  being  paid,  or  some  deal  of  it, 
and  pledges  left  for  the  remnant,  the  Baron  went 
his  ways  in  no  very  evil  mood,  and  it  was  soon 
seen  that  they  of  East  Cheaping  would  no  longer 
need  the  men  they  had  waged  over  and  above 
those  who  were  due  to  them  for  service,  wherefore 
leave  was  given  to  such  waged  men  to  depart,  and 
the  Dalesmen  amongst  others.  But  gifts  were 
given  them  largely,  over  and  above  their  war-pay, 
and  to  Osberne  and  to  Stephen  the  Eater  in 
especial.  Unto  whom,  amongst  other  things,  the 
Butchers'  guild  of  the  good  town  did,  on  the  eve 
of  his  departure,  bring  a  great  and  fair  ox,  white 
of  colour  ;  and  they  had  gilded  the  horns  of  the 
beast,  and  done  him  about  with  garlands  :  but  on 
a  scroll  between  the  horns  was  fairly  writ  the 
words,   The   Eater's    Ox.     Which    gift   Stephen 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  1 55 

received  as  It  was  given,  very  lovingly,  and  many 
a  cup  they  drank  together  over  him  ;  but  Stephen 
said  ere  his  friends  departed :  Yet  look  ye,  lads 
of  East  Cheaping,  though  this  ox  be  mine,  yet 
shall  he  not  be  the  ox  of  the  Eater ;  for  slay  him 
will  I  never,  but  let  live  on  and  on  for  love  of 
our  friends  of  East  Cheaping  so  long  as  I  may 
buy,  beg,  or  steal  a  cow's  grass  for  him. 

As  for  Osberne,  though  he  bought  in  the 
booths  a  pretty  many  of  such  things  as  were 
goodly  and  little,  of  goldsmiths'  work  and  the 
like,  to  flit  to  his  friend  across  the  Sundering 
Flood,  yet  no  gift  would  he  take,  save  a  very  fair 
armour  of  the  spoils  of  Deepdale :  and  this  was 
no  gift,  said  Sir  Medard,  but  what  he  had  earned 
himself  by  hard  toil  enough. 

All  loved  him,  but  Sir  Medard  in  especial,  who 
had  fain  dubbed  him  knight ;  but  Osberne  would 
not,  and  said  that  such  had  been  no  wont  of  his 
fathers  before  him  ;  and  he  looked  never  to  go 
very  far  from  the  Dale  and  for  no  long  while. 
And  even  if  I  may  not  live  there,  quoth  he,  I 
look  to  die  there ;  and  he  reddened  therewith  till 
the  eyes  looked  light  in  the  face  of  him.  But 
Medard  said :  Wheresoever  thou  livest  or  diest 
thou  wilt  live  and  die  a  great-heart.  But  this  I 
bid  thee,  whenso  thou  hast  need  of  a  friend  who 
may  show  thee  the  road  into  the  world  of  needs, 
when  thou  hast  aught  to  hide  or  aught  to  seek, 
come  thou  unto  me,  and  be  sure  that  I  shall  not 
fail  thee. 

Osberne    thanked  him    from   his  whole  heart. 


156  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  they  kissed  and  departed  with  all  love ;  and 
as  the  Dalesmen  rode  down  the  street  toward  the 
western  gate,  it  was  full  of  folk  shouting  out 
praises  and  blessings ;  and  the  windows  were  full 
of  women  who  cast  down  flowers  on  them  as  they 
went  along,  saying  that  but  for  these  stout-hearts 
they  might  have  had  neither  town  nor  honour 
nor  children,  and  that  nought  was  good  enough 
for  such  friends  as  these.  Thus  rode  the  Dales- 
men out  of  East  Cheaping. 

But  of  the  ten  score  and  six  that  had  ridden 
out  of  the  Dale,  two  score  and  two  were  lacking, 
who  had  either  been  slain  in  battle  or  so  sorely 
hurt  that  they  were  no  longer  fightworthy ;  but 
sixteen  had  dropped  in  by  ones  and  twos  and 
threes  to  fill  the  places  of  these,  so  that  they  rode 
back  but  little  fewer  than  they  came. 


CHAPTER  XXIX.     OSBERNE  AND  HIS 
MEN    RETURN    TO    WETHERMEL. 

NOW  on  a  fair  evening  a  little  ere  sunset  of 
the  beginning  of  October,  came  those 
Dalesmen  amongst  the  black  rocks  and 
rough  places  that  crowned  the  bent  which  looked 
down  west  over  the  Dale.  And  now,  though 
they  had  been  talking  merrily  and  loud  for  the 
last  three  hours,  their  hearts  were  so  full  within 
them  that  scarce  a  word  might  they  say  one  to 
another.  And  when  at  last  they  had  won  through 
that  rocky  tangle  and  had  opened  Wethermel, 
and  nought  lay  before  them  but  the  grassy  slopes 
and  the  wide-spread  valley  cleft  by  the  line  of  the 
Sundering  Flood ;  now,  when  they  saw  in  the 
clear  air  the  grey  houses  of  Wethermel  lying  to- 
gether, and  the  smoke  of  the  evening  cooking- 
fires  going  up  to  the  heavens,  and  the  sheep 
wending  on,  thick  and  huddling  before  the 
driving  of  three  tall  men,  and  the  kine  moving 
towards  the  byre  and  the  women  amongst  them, 
then  this  befell  :  that  whereas  they  had  been  all 
of  one  mind  that  when  they  came  to  the  crown  of 
the  bent  they  would  spur  on  and  race  merrily 
toward  Wethermel,  yet  now  when  it  lay  before 
them,  and  there  was  so  little  a  way  betwixt  them 
and  its  hearth,  they  all  of  them  with  one  consent 
drew  rein  and  sat  still  on  their  horses,  as  if  they 
had  suddenly  come  face  to  face  with  the  host  of 


158  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

the  foemen.  Yea,  some  there  were,  and  they 
rather  of  the  oldest  than  the  youngest,  who  might 
not  refrain  them,  but  fell  a-weeping  and  sobbing, 
whether  it  were  for  joy  or  sorrow,  or  a  blending 
of  both,  may  scarce  be  said. 

Osberne  wept  not :  sooth  to  say,  the  turmoil 
of  hope  and  fear  within  his  heart  ate  up  some- 
what the  softness  that  might  else  have  mastered 
him  at  this  new  sight  of  his  fathers'  house.  He 
rode  forth  before  the  others,  and  hfted  up  his 
voice  and  loudly  cried  a  blessing  on  the  Dale 
and  the  dwellers  therein,  and  then  rode  on 
soberly  down  the  bent,  and  the  others  followed 
him  still  silently.  But  when  they  were  drawn 
anigh,  and  every  soul,  man,  woman,  and  child, 
ran  forth  from  the  garth  to  meet  and  welcome 
them,  then  at  last  their  joy  brake  forth,  and  they 
gat  off  their  horses  and  gave  themselves  up  to 
the  caresses  of  the  women  and  the  embracing 
of  the  carles,  and  loud  was  the  speech  and  the 
laughter   amongst   them. 

Osberne  was  met  first  by  Nicholas  his  grand- 
sire,  who  kissed  and  embraced  him,  and  then 
gave  him  up  to  his  grandame  and  the  foster- 
mother,  and  one  or  other  of  these  twain  would 
scarce  let  go  of  him   a  long  while. 

But  now  was  riding  and  running  after  victual 
for  so  big  a  company  of  men ;  for  nought  would 
serve  the  folk  of  Wethermel  but  that  the  whole 
fellowship  must  abide  there  that  night.  But  all 
was  got  ready  in  a  v/hile,  and  meanwhile  the  stay- 
at-homes  might  not  have  enough  of  praising  and 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  159 

caressing  the  folk  returned,  and  everything  they 
said  or  did  was  a  wonder. 

At  last  the  feast  was  arrayed,  and  the  hall  was 
thronged  as  much  as  might  be,  and  folk  fell  to 
meat,  and  now  they  were  all  exceeding  merry ; 
and  when  they  had  done  eating,  the  boards  were 
drawn  to  make  more  room,  and  they  fell  to  the 
drink,  and  after  the  first  cup  to  Christ,  and  the 
second  to  AUhallows,  the  third  was  drunk  to 
the  home-comers  from  the  war.  Yet  were  not 
the  stay-at-homes  to  be  put  off  with  so  little,  and 
they  called  a  cup  for  Osberne  the  captain  of  the 
warriors  ;  and  when  it  had  been  drunk,  then  all 
folk  looked  toward  the  captain  to  see  what  he 
would  do ;  but  he  rose  up  and  stood  in  his  place, 
his  cheek  flushed  and  his  eyes  sparkling :  and 
the  word  came  into   his  mouth,  and  he  sang : 

The  War-god's  gale 

Drave  down  die  Dale 

And  thrust  us  out 

To  the  batde-shout. 

We  wended  far 

To  the  wall  of  war. 

And  trod  the  way 

Where  the  edges  lay  ; 

The  rain  of  the  string  rattled  rough  on  the  field 

Where  the  haysel  was  hoarded  with  sword-edge  and  shield. 

Long  lived  the  sun 
When  the  play  was  begun. 
And  little  but  white 
Was  the  moon  all  night ; 
But  the  days  drew  in 
And  work  was  to  win. 


l6o  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

And  on  the  snow- 
Lay  men  alow  ; 

And  at  Yule  fared  we  feasting  in  war-warded  wall. 
And  the  helm  and  the  byrny  were  bright  in  the  hall. 

Then  changed  the  year 

And  Spring  was  dear. 

But  no  maid  went 

On  mead  or  bent. 

For  there  grew  on  ground 

New  battle-round. 

New  war-wall  ran 

Round  houses  of  man  ; 

There  tower  to  tower  oft  dark  and  dim  grew 

At  noontide  of  Summer  with  rain  of  the  yew. 

'Neath  point  and  edge 

In  the  battle-hedge 

We  dwelt  till  wore 

Late  Summer  o'er ; 

In  the  Autumn  night 

We  steered  aright 

The  wisdom  bark 

Through  the  steel-thronged  dark  ; 

The  warrior  we  wafted  from  out  of  the  fray. 

And  he  woke  midst  the  worthy  and  hearkened  their  say. 

Now  peace  is  won 

And  all  strife  done. 

And  in  our  hands 

The  fame  of  lands 

Aback  we  bear 

To  the  Dale  the  dear. 

And  the  Fathers  lie 

Made  glad  thereby. 

Now  blossometh  bliss  in  the  howes  of  the  old 

At  our  tale  growing  green  from  their  tale  that  is  told. 

Loud  was  the  glee  and  the  shouting  at  his  song, 
and  all  men  said  that  every  whit  thereof  was  sooth, 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  l6l 

and  that  this  was  the  best  day  that  had  ever 
dawned  on  Wethermel ;  and  great  joy  and  bliss 
was  on  the  hall  till  they  must  needs  go  to  their 
rest.  So  changed  was  Wethermel,  the  niggard 
once,  and  that,  it  might  be  deemed,  was  but  one 
youngling's  doing. 


II 


CHAPTER  XXX.     OSBERNE  GOES  TO 
THE   TRYSTING-PLACE. 

BUT  on  the  morrow  ere  the  day  was  old, 
the  guests  departed  in  all  contentment  each 
to   his   own   folk,   and   Osberne   and   the 
Wethermel  men  led  them  out  with  blessings. 

When  they  were  all  gone  and  the  unwonted 
stir  was  over,  it  seemed  to  Osberne  as  if  he  were 
awakening  from  a  dream,  and  his  heart  was  in  a 
turmoil  of  hope  and  fear,  so  that  he  knew  not 
what  to  do  till  he  was  once  more  at  the  Bight  of 
the  Cloven  Knoll.  He  tarried  for  nought  save  to 
take  up  the  gifts  of  East  Cheaping,  and  he  had 
no  weapon  with  him  save  his  bow  and  arrows 
wherewith  to  "flit  the  said  gifts  across  the  water, 
but  he  was  gaily  clad  in  a  coat  of  green,  flowered 
with  gold,  which  he  had  bought  him  at  East 
Cheaping  ;  and  a  fair  and  lovely  youth  he  looked, 
as  he  strode  along  at  his  swiftest  toward  the  tryst- 
ing-place,  his  face  flushed,  his  brows  a  little  knit 
with  mingled  trouble  and  joy,  his  lips  parted  with 
his  eager  breathing.  Whiles  as  he  went  he  said 
to  himself,  How  many  chances  and  changes  there 
were,  and  how  might  he  expect  to  find  Elfhild 
there  again  ?  and  next,  when  he  had  enough 
afflicted  himself  with  thinking  of  her  sick,  or 
dead,  or  wedded,  his  strong  heart  of  a  youth  threw 
it  off  again,  and  he  thought,  How  could  evil  such 
as  that  befall  him,  the  stalworth  and  joyous.'' 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  163 

So  he  fared  till  he  came  within  sight  of  the 
ness,  and  saw  no  figure  there  on  the  top  of  it ; 
yet  he  straightway  fell  to  running,  as  though  he 
knew  she  had  been  waiting  for  him  a  long  while; 
but  as  he  ran  he  kept  his  eyes  down  on  the 
ground,  so  that  he  might  not  see  her  place  empty 
of  her.  But  when  he  came  to  his  place  he  lifted 
up  his  eyes,  and  there  to  his  great  joy  saw  her 
coming  up  the  slope  of  the  ness ;  and  when  she 
saw  him  she  uttered  a  great  cry,  and  spread  out 
her  arms  and  reached  out  to  him.  But  as  for 
him,  he  might  make  neither  word  nor  sound  a 
great  while,  but  stood  looking  on  her.  Then 
he  said :  Is  it  well  with  thee  ?  O  yea,  yea,  she 
said,  and  over-well  as  now.  Art  thou  wedded  ? 
said  he.  Yea,  she  said,  unto  thee.  O  would  that 
we  were,  would  that  we  were  !  said  Osberne.  O  ! 
she  said,  be  not  sad  this  morning,  or  wish  for 
aught  so  that  it  grieve  thee.  Bethink  thee  how 
dear  this  moment  is  now  at  last,  when  our  eyes 
behold  each  other.  Hast  thou  come  here  often  to 
look  for  me  ?  said  he.  She  said  :  It  was  the  four- 
teenth of  May  was  a  year  that  we  parted  ;  now  is 
this  the  eighth  day  of  October.  That  makes  five 
hundred  and  eleven  days :  not  oftener  than  that 
have  I  come  here  to  look  for  thee. 

So  piteous-kind  she  looked  as  she  spake,  that  his 
bosom  heaved  and  his  face  changed,  and  he  wept. 
She  said:  I  wish  I  had  not  said  that  to  make  thee 
weep  for  me,  my  dear.  He  spake  as  his  face 
cleared  :  Nay,  my  dear,  it  was  not  all  for  thee, 
but  for  me  also ;  and  it  was  not  all  for  grief,  but 


164  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

for  love.  She  said  :  With  this  word  thou  givest 
me  leave  to  weep  ;  and  she  wept  in  good  sooth. 
Then  in  a  while  she  said  :  And  now  thou  wilt 
sit  down,  wilt  thou  not  ?  and  tell  me  all  thy  tale, 
and  of  thy  great  deeds,  some  wind  whereof  hath 
been  blown  to  us  across  the  Sundering  Flood. 
And  sweet  it  will  be  to  hear  thy  voice  going  on 
and  on,  and  telling  me  dear  things  of  thyself. 

Even  so  will  I  do,  said  Osberne,  if  thou  wilt ; 
yet  I  were  fain  to  hear  of  thee  and  how  thou  hast 
fared  this  while ;  and  thy  words  would  I  hear 
above  all  things.  The  voice  of  him  quavered  as 
he  spake,  and  he  seemed  to  find  it  hard  to  bring 
any  word  out :  but  his  eyes  were  devouring  her 
as  if  he  could  never  have  enough  of  looking  on 
her.  Forsooth  there  was  cause,  so  fair  she  was, 
and  he  now  come  far  into  his  eighteenth  year.  She 
was  that  day  clad  all  in  black,  without  any  adorn- 
ment, and  her  hair  was  knit  up  as  a  crown  about 
her  beauteous  head,  which  sat  upon  her  shoulders 
as  the  swan  upon  the  billow :  her  hair  had  dark- 
ened since  the  days  of  her  childhood,  and  was 
now  brown  mingled  with  gold,  as  though  the  sun 
were  within  it ;  somewhat  low  it  came  down  upon 
her  forehead,  which  was  broad  and  white ;  her 
eyes  were  blue-grey  and  lustrous,  her  cheeks  a 
little  hollow,  but  the  jaw  truly  wrought,  and  fine 
and  clear,  and  her  chin  firm  and  lovely  carven ; 
her  lips  not  very  full,  but  red  and  lovely,  her 
nose  straight  and  fine.  The  colour  of  her  clear 
and  sweet,  but  not  blent  with  much  red :  rather 
it  was  as  if  the  gold  of  her  hair  had  passed  over  her 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  165 

face  and  left  some  little  deal  behind  there.  In  all 
her  face  was  a  look  half  piteous,  as  though  she 
craved  the  love  of  folk ;  but  yet  both  mirth  and 
swift  thought  brake  through  it  at  whiles,  and 
sober  wisdom  shaded  it  into  something  like  stern- 
ness. Low-bosomed  she  was  yet,  and  thin-flanked, 
and  had  learned  no  tricks  and  graces  of  move- 
ment such  as  women  of  towns  and  great  houses 
use  for  the  beguiling  of  men.  But  the  dear  sim- 
pleness  of  her  body  in  these  days  when  the  joy  of 
childhood  had  left  her,  and  a  high  heart  of  good 
longing  was  ever  before  her,  was  an  allurement 
of  love  and  far  beyond  any  fooling  such  as  that. 

Now  she  said  :  How  thou  lookest  on  me,  dear 
Osberne,  and  thy  face  is  somewhat  sober  ;  is  there 
aught  that  thou  likest  not  in  me?  I  will  do  as 
thou  biddest,  and  tell  all  the  little  there  is  to  tell 
about  me,  ere  thou  tellest  me  all  the  mickle  thou 
hast  to  tell  about  thee. 

He  said,  and  still  spake  as  if  the  words  were 
somewhat  hard  to  find  :  I  look  upon  thee,  Elfhild, 
because  I  love  thee,  and  because  thou  hast  out- 
grown thy  dearness  of  a  year  and  a  half  agone  and 
become  a  woman,  and  I  see  thee  so  fair  and 
lovely,  that  I  fear  for  thee  and  me,  that  I  desire 
more  than  is  my  due,  and  that  never  shall  we 
mend  our  sundering ;  and  that  even  what  I  have 
may  be  taken  from  me.  She  smiled,  yet  some- 
what faintly,  and  spake  :  I  call  that  ill  said ;  yet 
shalt  thou  not  make  me  weep  thereby,  such  joy 
as  I  have  of  the  love  in  thy  words.  But  come, 
sit  thou  down,  and  I  shall  tell  thee  my  tidings. 


1 66  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

So  they  sat  down  each  as  nigh  unto  the  edge 
as  they  might ;  and  Osberne  spake  no  more  for 
that  while,  but  looked  and  listened,  and  Elfhild 
said:  Day  by  day  I  have  come  hither,  sometimes 
sadder  and  sorrier  than  at  others,  whiles  with  more 
hope,  and  whiles  with  less,  whiles  also  with  none 
at  all.  Of  that  thou  wottest  already  or  mayest 
bethink  thee.  Of  tidings  to  call  tidings  the  first 
is  that  my  kinswoman,  my  mother's  sister,  has 
changed  her  life  :  she  died  six  months  ago,  and 
we  brought  her  to  earth  by  the  church  of  All- 
hallows  the  West,  hard  by  the  place  of  the  Cloven 
Mote.  Needs  must  I  say  that,  though  she  was 
the  last  one  of  my  kindred,  the  loss  of  her  was 
no  very  grievous  sorrow  to  me,  for  ever  she  had 
heeded  me  little  and  loved  me  less,  though  she 
used  me  not  cruelly  when  I  was  little ;  and  her 
burial  was  a  stately  one  as  for  a  poor  house  in 
the  West  Dale.  Now  furthermore,  as  for  the 
carline  who  is  the  only  one  left  to  look  after  me, 
by  my  deeming  she  doth  love  me,  and  moreover 
she  hath  belike  more  of  might  than  were  to  be 
looked  for  of  so  old  and  frail-seeming  a  woman, 
and  that  besides  her  mickle  wisdom.  Whereof 
hearken  this,  which  is  the  second  tidings  of  note  I 
have  to  tell  thee.  It  is  now  some  two  months 
ago,  when  summer  was  waning  into  autumn,  that 
on  an  evening  just  after  sunset  we  were  sitting 
after  our  wont  in  our  house,  which,  though  it  be 
neither  grand  nor  great,  is  bigger  than  we  need 
for  us  twain.  Comes  a  knock  on  the  door,  and 
the  carline  goes  thereto,  and  is  followed  back  into 


THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD  1 67 

the  chamber  by  a  tall  man,  clad  neither  as  one  of 
our  country-side  nor  as  a  warrior,  but  in  a  long 
black  gown  with  furred  edges.  He  had  no  weap- 
ons save  a  short  sword  and  a  whittle  in  his  girdle ; 
he  was  not  ill-looked,  black-bearded  and  ruddy- 
faced,  and  seemed  strong-built,  a  man  of  about 
five  and  forty  winters.  He  hailed  us  courteously, 
and  asked  if  he  might  abide  with  us  till  morning, 
and  we  nay-said  him  not,  if  he  might  do  with  such 
cheer  as  we  might  make  him.  He  smiled,  and 
said  any  cheer  was  better  worth  to  him  than  the 
desert  as  at  that  time  :  and  he  said  withal  that  he 
had  a  way-beast  without  who  was  as  weary  as  was 
he;  and,  says  he,  there  is  a  pair  of  saddle-bags 
on  him,  which  many  would  not  deem  overmuch 
of  a  burden,  if  they  had  not  very  far  to  carry  it. 

So  I  went  out-a-doors  with  him  to  see  after  his 
nag  and  saddle-bags ;  and  I  led  the  horse  into 
the  same  stall  where  was  winter  quarters  for  our 
two  horses ;  but  this  was  a  very  big  stark  beast, 
grey  of  colour,  such  as  we  have  not  in  this  land, 
and  I  gave  him  hay  and  barley  ;  but  the  saddle- 
bags he  brought  back  with  him  into  the  chamber. 
And  he  kept  ever  by  my  side  on  the  way  there 
and  back,  and  looked  at  me  oft  in  the  failing 
light,  though  I  was  but  in  my  sorry  old  raiment 
with  bare  feet,  in  such  guise  as  thou  hast  not  seen 
me  for  years,  my  dear.  Howsoever,  I  heeded  it 
not  at  the  time,  and  we  both  came  back  into  the 
chamber,  where  Dame  Anna  had  now  lighted  the 
candles.  Shortly  to  say,  we  put  what  meat  and 
drink  we  might  before  our  guest,  and  he  seemed 


1 68  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

well  content  therewith ;  and  he  was  merry  with 
us,  and  showed  himself  a  man  of  many  words 
deftly  strung  together,  and  spared  not  to  tell  us 
many  things  about  tidings  of  far  and  noble  coun- 
tries, and  the  ways  of  men  both  great  and  small 
therein.  And  he  said  that  he  was  a  chapman 
journeying  after  gain,  and  looked  to  buy  wares 
in  the  Dale,  and  therewith  he  asked  us  if  we  had 
aught  to  sell  him  ;  but  Anna  laughed  and  said : 
Fair  sir,  were  ye  to  buy  all  this  and  all  that  is  in 
it,  from  groundsill  to  roofridge,  and  all  our  kine 
and  sheep  and  horses  to  boot,  little  would  the 
tide  of  gold  ebb  in  thy  bags  yonder.  I  wot  not, 
he  said ;  who  may  say  what  treasure  ye  have  been 
hoarding  here  this  long  while  ?  He  looked  on 
me  as  he  spake,  and  I  reddened  and  looked 
down,  for  in  my  heart  I  was  thinking  of  the  pipe 
and  the  gemmed  necklace  which  the  Dwarfs  had 
given  me.  And  yet  more  than  all,  of  thy  gifts, 
Osberne,  which  have  been  so  dear  to  me :  for 
soothly  to  say,  of  these  matters  I  had  never  told 
Dame  Anna,  though  she  knoweth  that  I  go  oft 
to  look  upon  thee  here  and  that  I  love  thee. 
However,  that  talk  ran  off,  and  presently  the 
chapman  got  to  asking  Anna  about  the  matters 
of  the  Dalers,  and  the  ways  of  its  folk,  and 
amongst  other  things  as  to  how  wealthy  they 
were,  and  she  answered  him  simply  as  she  could. 
He  asked  her  also  if  they  loved  their  bairns  and 
children  well,  and  also  if  they  had  any  custom 
thereabout  of  casting  any  of  their  women-children 
forth,  if  it  happened  to  be  their  fortune  to  have 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  169 

many  daughters  and  little  meat,  and  that  espe- 
cially when  the  years  were  bad.  But  thereat  she 
cried  out  Haro  !  and  said  that  such  a  deed  was 
unheard  of,  and  that  when  times  were  bad  and 
there  was  lack,  then  hand  helped  foot  and  foot 
hand. 

Well,  says  he,  smiling,  that  failed  Hamdir's 
Sons  once,  and  may  do  others  again.  Then  he 
asked  withal  if  it  were  not  true  that  things  had 
run  short  in  the  Dale  this  last  season ;  and  she 
answered,  as  was  true  of  this  west  side  of  the 
Dale,  where  was  no  man  called  to  war,  that  so  it 
was.  And  again  that  talk  dropped.  But  the 
carline,  methought,  looked  keenly  at  him.  After 
a  while  Anna  asked  the  guest  if  he  had  will  to  go 
to  bed,  and  he  answered.  No,  he  would  wake  the 
meat  well  into  his  belly.  Then  she  bade  me  fare 
to  bed,  which  I  did,  nought  loth,  for  when  all 
was  said  I  scarce  liked  the  looks  of  the  man. 
As  for  my  bed,  it  was  a  shut-bed,  and  opened 
not  out  of  the  chamber  wherein  we  were,  but  out 
of  an  inner  one,  rather  long  than  wide.  There  I 
lay  down  and  went  to  sleep  before  long,  but 
deemed  I  heard  no  little  talk  going  on  betwixt 
Anna  and  the  guest  ere  I  forgat  all.  And  more- 
over Anna  came  to  me  and  waved  her  hands 
over  me  before   I   went  off  sound. 

But  when  I  woke  again  it  seemed  to  me  that 
I  had  slept  long,  but  I  slipped  out  of  bed  and 
laid  hold  of  my  smock  to  do  it  on,  and  even 
therewith  I  shrank  aback,  for  there  before  me, 
naked  in  his  shirt  and  holding  the  door  of  my 


lyo  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

shut-bed  with  one  hand  and  his  whittle  in  the 
other,  was  the  stranger;  but  therewithal  came 
Dame  Anna  and  said  :  Heed  him  not,  for  as  yet 
he  is  asleep  though  his  eyes  be  open.  Do  on  thy 
raiment  speedily,  my  Elfhild,  and  come  forth 
with  me,  and  let  him  wake  up  by  himself.  Even 
so  I  did,  not  rightly  understanding  her  words. 
But  when  we  were  gotten  into  the  garth  and  the 
mead  Anna  told  me  all,  to  wit,  how  that  this 
wretch,  after  I  had  gone  to  sleep  had  bidden  her 
a  price  for  me  to  bear  me  off  safely  and  wholly 
with  him.  And  that  may  easily  be  done,  says  he, 
as  I  see  of  thee  that  thou  art  wise  in  wizarding 
and  canst  throw  the  maiden  into  a  sleep  which 
she  will  not  awake  from  till  due  time  is  ;  for,  says 
he,  I  want  two  things,  to  have  her  in  mine  arms 
to  do  as  I  will  with,  and  thereafter  to  bear  her 
home  with  me,  will  she  nill  she.  Now,  said 
Anna,  I  would  not  wholly  gainsay  him  at  once, 
for  I  would  have  my  fox  safe  in  the  trap ;  so  I 
hemmed  and  hawed,  and  said  that  he  might 
belike  rue  his  bargain  unless  he  were  full  sure 
what  it  were  worth ;  and  to  be  short,  I  so  egged 
him  on  and  drew  him  back,  and  drew  him  back 
and  egged  him  on,  that  at  last  he  took  off  his 
outer  raiment,  gat  his  bare  whittle  in  one  hand 
and  laid  the  other  on  the  door.  Now,  my  dear, 
I  have  long  known  thy  door  that  I  may  so  do 
that  it  will  do  my  will  in  many  matters ;  so  when 
I  saw  the  chapman's  hand  on  the  edge  thereof,  I 
spake  a  few  words  to  it  and  went  to  bed  myself, 
whereas  I  wotted  that  runagate  could  not  move 


THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD  171 

hand  from  door-board,  or  foot  from  floor-board, 
till  the  time  which  I  had  appointed  to  him  ;  and 
thee  also  I  had  sent  to  sleep  till  the  very  time 
when  thou  didst  awaken  e'en  now.  But  what 
shall  we  do  now  ?  said  I.  Said  Anna  :  We  will 
abide  here  in  the  shaw  :  there  is  meat  on  the  board 
for  the  guest,  and  his  raiment  will  not  be  hard  to 
find,  and  he  knows  where  are  his  horse  and  his 
gear  and  his  saddle-bags.  I  doubt  me  he  will 
not  be  eager  to  say  farewell  either  to  thee  or  to 
me ;  for  he  is  not  man  enough  to  take  his  sword 
in  his  fist  against  even  an  old  carline  and  a  young 
maiden.  So  into  the  shaw  we  gat  us ;  as  I  have 
told  thee,  it  is  at  the  back  of  our  houses  but  a 
furlong  off.  And  there  we  lay  till  a  little  past 
noon,  when  we  heard  a  horse  going  not  far  off. 
So  we  crept  to  the  very  edge  of  the  wood  and 
looked  forth  privily,  and  presently  we  saw  our 
chapman  riding  off  west  with  his  saddle-bags  and 
all,  and  his  face  was  worn  and  doleful ;  at  that 
Anna  grinned  spitefully,  nor  for  my  part  might 
I  altogether  refrain  my  laughter.  But  thou 
dost  not  laugh,  Osberne  ?  He  sprang  up  and 
cried  out  fiercely :  I  would  I  had  been  there 
to  cleave  his  skull !  Many  a  better  man  have  I 
slain  for  less  cause. 

Then  they  were  silent  awhile,  and  she  sat 
looking  on  him  fondly,  till  she  spake  at  last : 
Sweetheart,  art  thou  angry  with  me  for  telling 
thee  this  tale  ?  Nay,  nay,  he  said  ;  how  might  I 
live  save  thou  told  me  everything  that  befell 
thee?     Yet  I  must  tell  thee  that  I  well-nigh  wish 


172  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

I  had  not  heard  this  one ;  for  there  thou  dwellest, 
with  none  other  to  ward  thee  than  a  carline  stricken 
in  years;  and  though  I  wot  well  from  all  thou 
hast  said  of  her,  and  this  last  tale  in  special,  that 
she  has  mickle  might  in  her,  yet  she  cannot  be 
always  with  thee,  nor  belike  ever  thinking  of  thee. 
God  forbid,  sweetheart,  that  I  should  speak  to 
thee  in  the  tongue  of  the  courts  and  the  great 
houses  and  lords'  palaces,  whenas  for  a  fashion 
of  talking  they  say  of  their  lemans,  and  they  not 
always  nor  often  exceeding  fair,  that  they  be 
jewels  beyond  all  price,  whom  an  host  of  men 
were  not  enough  to  ward.  But  this  I  will  say, 
and  he  blushed  very  red  at  the  word,  that  thou 
art  so  lovely  and  so  dear  that  thy  man,  thy  love, 
and  the  stout  and  good  friends  who  love  him, 
were  not  over  many  for  thy  guarding  even  in  this 
lonely  place.  And  with  all  that  I  can  be  of  no 
more  use  thereto  than  if  I  were  a  wooden  man. 

She  stood  up  also,  and  he  saw  that  the  tears 
ran  over  her  cheeks,  and  he  stretched  out  his 
arms  to  her ;  but  she  said :  Grieve  not  too 
much,  my  friend ;  and  know,  as  thou  saidst  e'en 
now  of  thyself,  that  these  tears  are  not  wholly 
for  sorrow  of  thy  grief,  but  O  !  so  much  and  so 
much  for  joy  of  thy  kindness.  And  one  thing  I 
must  tell  thee,  that  if  I  am  alone  in  my  house  I 
am  at  least  alone  with  a  friend  and  one  who  loves 
me.  And  this  shall  come  of  it,  that  now  every 
day  I  shall  come  down  to  the  tryst,  for  the  car- 
line  will  hinder  me  in  no  way.  But  I  know  that 
oft  thou  wilt  come  to  meet  me  ;    yet  belike  often 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  1 73 

thou  wilt  not,  because  I  wot  how  thou  hast  work 
to  do  and  things  wherein  folk  call  for  thee  to 
serve  them.  So  any  day  if  thou  come  not  it 
shall  be  well,  and  if  thou  come  it  shall  be  better. 

Now  at  last  he  seemed  to  be  learning  the  full 
sweetness  of  her.  But  she  held  up  her  hand  and 
said  :  Now  I  bid  thee  tarry  no  longer,  but  fall 
to  and  tell  me  the  tale  of  thy  deeds ;  for  soon 
shall  the  short  autumn  day  be  waning,  and  the 
moment  of  parting  shall  steal  upon  us  ere  we  be 
ware.  Even  so  he  did  now  ;  but  at  first,  to  say 
sooth,  he  made  but  a  poor  minstrel,  so  much  his 
mind  was  turned  unto  what  she  had  been  telling 
him  ;  but  after  a  while  his  scaldship  quickened 
him,  and  he  told  her  much  in  manner  like  life,  so 
that  she  might  as  it  were  see  the  tidings  going  on 
before  her.  And  he  held  her  enwrapped  in  his 
tale  till  the  dark  and  the  dusk  began  to  rise  up 
over  the  earth,  and  then  for  that  time  they  parted, 
and  there  was  to  be  more  of  the  war  of  East 
Cheaping  on  the  day  after  to-morrow. 

So  went  Osberne  home  to  Wethermel,  and  at 
first  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  this  first  meeting  after 
so  long  a  while  had  scarce  been  so  good  as  he 
had  looked  for  ;  for  both  his  longing  to  be  close 
to  his  love,  and  the  fear  which  had  arisen  in  his 
heart  as  to  the  stealing  of  her,  were  somewhat  of 
a  weight  on  him.  But  after  a  little,  when  he  had 
first  been  amongst  folk  and  then  alone,  all  that 
doubt  and  trouble  melted  away  in  the  remem- 
brance of  her,  as  she  had  been  really  standing 
before    his   eyes,  and  there  was    now   little   pain 


174  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  much  sweetness  in  the  longing  wherewith  he 
longed  for  her. 

So  on  the  said  day  appointed  he  went  to  meet 
her,  smiling  and  happy  and  fresh  as  a  rose  ;  and 
she  was  of  like  mien,  and  when  they  faced  each 
other  she  smote  her  palms  together  as  in  the  old 
childish  time,  and  cried  out :  Ah !  now  the  war- 
rior is  all  ready  and  the  minstrel  is  stuffed  full  of 
his  tale,  and  happy  shall  be  the  hour.  And  even 
so  it  was. 


CHAPTER   XXXI.     THEY   MEET 
THROUGH   AUTUMN  AND 
WINTER. 

SO  many  a  time  they  met  that  autumn,  and 
Elfhild  would  ever  be  asking  him  some 
boon  ;  as  the  next  time  after  this,  it  was 
the  gifts  which  he  had  brought  for  her  from  East 
Cheaping ;  for  in  thinking  of  her  he  had  clean 
forgotten  them.  So  then  was  the  merry  time  in 
talking  of  them,  and  shooting  and  hurling  of 
them  over,  and  the  donning  of  them,  and  the 
talking  of  them  again.  Another  time  she  prayed 
him  to  come  clad  in  that  goodly  armour  of  the 
spoils  of  Deepdale,  and  he  could  no  less  than 
yea-say  her,  and  there  he  was  on  the  trysting-day, 
striding  by  the  river-bank  in  the  sun,  like  an 
heap  of  glittering  ice  hurrying  before  the  river 
when  the  thaw  is  warm  and  the  sun  shining 
bright  at  Candlemas.  And  over  that  also  went 
many  pretty  plays,  as  taking  the  pieces  off,  and 
naming  them,  and  doing  them  on  again  and  the 
like. 

So  wore  the  days  into  winter,  and  yet  the  two 
saw  each  other  full  often  even  through  the  frost 
and  snow  and  ill  weather.  And  when  the  spring 
came,  then  it  was  dear  to  them  indeed.  And  by 
that  time  had  Osberne's  fears  about  the  stealing 
of  Elfhild  much  worn  off;  though  it  is  to  be 
said  that  exceeding  oft  his  heart  was  weary  and 
sore  with  the  longing  to  hold  her  in   his  arms. 


176  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Yet  the  most  of  these  times  he  kept  his  grief  in 
his  own  heart ;  so  much  as  Elfhild  was  moved 
when  it  brake  forth  from  him,  and  she  might,  so 
to  say,  see  the  torments  of  him  before  her  very- 
eyes.  Indeed  on  one  while,  when  for  a  long 
time  she  might  not  comfort  him,  she  told  him 
that  this  was  almost  as  bad  as  seeing  him  laid 
a-dying  before  her.  But  kind  and  dear  they 
were  to  each  other,  and  there  was  nought  in  them 
that  was  not  lovely  in  those  first  days  of  their 
manhood. 


CHAPTER   XXXII.     FOEMEN  AMONG 
THE   WEST    DALERS. 

BUT  when  the  spring  was  worn  into  April 
there  fell  new  tidings :  for  on  a  morning 
early  came  Stephen  the  Eater  hurrying 
into  the  hall  at  Wethermel  and  cried  aloud : 
Bows,  bows  !  Come  afield  all  ye  of  this  hall,  and 
thou  chiefly,  Osberne  the  captain  ! 

Out  then  tumbled  the  stout  men  of  Wethermel 
from  shut-bed  and  hutch,  and  were  presently 
armed ;  and  Osberne  was  in  his  byrny  and  steel 
hood  straightway,  his  bow  in  his  hand  and  his 
quiver  at  his  back. 

They  gathered  about  him  and  Stephen  amidst 
of  the  hall,  and  then  Osberne  asks  what  is  toward. 
Great  matter  enough,  says  Stephen.  Yet  how  to 
help  therein  ?  There  is  unpeace  in  the  Dale,  but 
it  has  fallen  on  the  Westerlings.  Quoth  Os- 
berne, short  and  sharp  :  Ye  Otter,  Simon,  Long- 
deer,  Alison,  take  horse  and  ride  straightway 
down  the  Dale  and  round  to  every  stead,  and 
bid  men  gather  to  the  side  of  the  Flood  with 
bows  and  sling-spears  and  shot-weapons  of  all 
kinds,  and  that  they  stand  not  in  knots  and 
clumps,  but  drawn  out  in  line,  and  space  enough 
betwixt  each  shooter.  Bid  them  to  leave  not  a 
shaft  at  home,  we  may  speedily  make  more,  but 
not  to  loose  once  till  they  have  marked  their 
man.     Now  hasten  ye  four  !     But  ye  others  come 


12 


178  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

after  me  at  once,  for  we  will  go  afoot  for  the 
saving  of  time  and  the  steadying  of  the  shooting. 

So  they  went  toward  the  water,  a  dozen  men 
all  told,  and  all  had  bows  and  good  store  of 
shafts.  And  as  they  went,  Osberne  spake  to 
those  about  him  and  said :  Spread  out,  and  make 
little  show  of  force,  and  show  not  your  bows  to 
the  foemen,  so  that  they  may  contemn  us  and 
venture  the  nearer  to  the  bank.  But  shoot  not 
till  they  defy  us,  lest  we  smite  a  peaceful  man. 
Now  they  were  presently  nigh  enough  to  see  the 
going  of  men  on  the  further  shore,  and  they  were 
all  riders.  It  was  clear  to  see  that  they  were 
aliens,  men  upon  big  horses  clad  in  outlandish 
armour  with  bright  steel  headpieces ;  they  bore 
long  spears  with  light  shafts,  and  a  many  of  them 
had  short  horseman's  bows  and  quivers  at  their 
backs  along  with  their  targes. 

Now  as  the  men  of  Wethermel  drew  up  to  the 
water's  edge,  a  knot  of  the  said  aliens,  about  a 
score,  came  to  them  shouting  and  yelling,  and 
there  were  within  sight  scattered  about  the  fields 
some  two  hundreds  in  all.  When  they  reined 
up  by  the  Flood-side  one  of  them,  who  seemed 
by  the  gold  on  his  armour  and  weapons  to  be  a 
chief,  hove  his  spear  aloft  and  brandished  it,  and 
fell  to  crying  out  in  what  seemed  to  be  words  ; 
but  since  they  knew  not  his  Latin  they  gat  no 
meaning  from  them,  but  he  spake  in  a  masterful 
and  threatening  voice.  Then  by  Osberne's  bid- 
ding, Stephen,  who  stood  anigh  him,  drew  a 
white    clout  from  his  scrip,  made  it  fast  to  his 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  1 79 

spear  and  held  it  aloft,  to  show  that  they  would 
have  parley.  But  for  all  answer  the  chieftain 
and  his  brake  out  a-laughing ;  and  then  the 
chieftain  gat  his  spear  by  the  midmost,  and  made 
as  if  he  would  cast  at  them  ;  but  the  Flood  there 
was  over-wide  for  spear-shot.  Then  one  of  his 
folk  unslung  his  short  bow  and  nocked  a  shaft, 
and  turned  to  the  chief  as  if  asking  leave,  and 
the  chief  nodded  him  yea-say.  Quoth  Osberne 
hastily:  Stephen,  cover  thee!  It  will  be  thou. 
Then  if  he  looses,  we  loose,  for  this  is  a  foeman. 

Even  therewith  the  shaft  flew,  and  Stephen 
turned  it  with  his  shield.  Then  the  Wether- 
melers  set  up  a  shout  and  bent  their  bows,  and 
Osberne  loosed  first,  and  the  shaft  smote  the 
chieftain  in  the  eye,  and  he  fell  dead  off  his  horse  : 
Stephen  also  put  a  shaft  into  the  man  who  had 
shot  at  him,  and  three  others  of  them  fell  withal 
at  the  first  loose,  besides  three  that  were  hurt. 
And  the  aliens  liked  the  Wethermel  breakfast  so 
ill,  that  they  turned  their  backs  to  the  river  at 
once  and  scuttled  away  into  the  field  out  of  shot, 
yet  not  before  they  had  lost  two  more  men  and 
three  horses. 

Osberne  stayed  his  men  there  a  little  while  to 
see  if  the  foe  would  bring  up  others  to  go  on  with 
the  game ;  but  the  aliens  were  over-wily  for  that, 
as  it  seemed ;  for  they  but  gathered  together,  and 
turning  all  their  heads  down-dale  fared  on  in  one 
body. 

As  yet  the  Dalesmen  had  seen  nought  of  any 
onset  of  their  neighbours  of  the  West,  and  sore 


l8o  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

troubled  was  Osberne  when  he  fell  to  thinking 
that,  as  the  robbers  were  wending,  they  must 
needs  chop  upon  Hart  Shaw  Knolls  ;  so  the  best 
he  could  hope  was  that  Elfhild  might  flee  from 
her  house  to  some  other,  or  even,  it  might  be, 
hide  her  in  the  wood,  which  she  knew  so  inwardly. 

Meanwhile  he  bade  his  men  go  quietly  down- 
stream on  the  river's  edge.  Saith  he :  If  aught 
is  to  be  done  from  this  side,  we  shall  presently 
have  the  folk  from  the  lower  steads  drifting  in  to 
us,  and  we  should  make  a  good  band  were  it  not 
for  yonder  wet  dyke  which  the  thieves  have 
gotten  them  for  a  defence. 

So  they  fared  on,  and  now  and  again  some  man 
of  the  lifters  turned  somewhat  toward  them  to 
look  on  their  demeanour,  and  whiles  one  would 
speed  an  arrow  to  them,  but  did  no  harm  ;  at  last, 
as  they  began  to  draw  nigh  the  narrows  above  the 
Bight  of  the  Cloven  Knoll,  a  whole  sort  of  the 
foemen  came  riverwards,  but  somewhat  more  than 
half  held  on  the  straight  way  down  the  Dale. 
Even  therewith  came  to  join  the  Wethermelers 
a  many  of  the  folk  from  the  downward  steads, 
stout  fellows  all,  and  well  armed  with  shot- 
weapons.  And  now  there  was  nought  for  it  but 
on  both  sides  men  were  drifting  toward  the  Bight 
of  the  Cloven  Knoll,  nor  needeth  words  to  tell  of 
the  anguish  of  Osberne's  heart  and  the  fierce  wrath 
of  his  spirit.  When  the  ahens,  who  were  throng- 
ing to  the  river-bank,  saw  how  narrow  the  stream 
was  growing,  they  set  up  a  whoop  and  drew  closer 
to  the   East  Dalers,  and  the   more  part  of  them 


THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD  i8i 

got  off  their  horses  and  marched  along  foot  by- 
foot  with  them,  and  they  were  now  within  shot  of 
each  other,  so  that  the  foemen  stayed  at  whiles 
and  shot  them  a  shaft ;  and  now  they  hurt  divers 
of  the  Dalesmen,  but  Osberne  would  not  suffer 
them  to  shoot  back  as  yet.  So  came  they  within 
sight  of  the  Dwarfs'  cave,  and  there  were  not  a 
few  of  the  Dalesmen  who  feared  the  place  even 
in  the  turmoil  of  battle ;  and  some  deemed  it 
might  be  unlucky  to  them,  but  others  said  that 
most  like  Osberne's  good  luck  would  prevail  over 
the  evil  will  of  the  Dwarf-kind. 

So  when  Osberne  came  to  the  trysting-place, 
he  and  his  were  fully  two  score  men,  and  they  of 
the  stoutest ;  and  he  stood  before  them  all  on  the 
very  place  where  his  feet  had  so  often  stayed  for 
the  comforting  of  his  heart  and  the  caressing  of  his 
love :  there  he  stood,  handling  a  heavy  cast-spear. 

Even  therewith  the  aliens  poured  on  to  the  ness, 
howling  like  dogs,  and  on  to  Elfhild's  very  stand- 
ing-place. Before  all  his  men  came  a  chieftain  of 
them,  clad  in  armour  wrought  gaudily  and  decked 
all  with  gold  and  silver,  and  with  a  great  red  horse- 
tail streaming  from  his  helm.  He  hove  up  his 
hand  and  poised  a  great  spear,  but  in  that  nick  of 
time  Osberne  cast  his  weapon  suddenly,  with  a 
fierce  shout,  and  all  about  him  and  behind  him  he 
heard  the  loose  of  the  Dalesmen's  bows.  Sooth 
to  say,  as  he  cast,  he  almost  looked  to  see  all  that 
turmoil  clear  away  as  a  dream,  and  that  he  should 
see  Elfhild  falling  with  the  spear  in  her  breast. 
But  nought  it  befell :   the  gold-decked  chieftain 


1 82  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

took  the  spear  under  his  arm,  and  he  and  his 
spear  fell  over  clashing  and  clattering  down  into 
the  gulfs  of  the  green  water,  and  many  of  the 
strong-thieves  fell  before  the  shaft-storm  of  the 
Dalesmen ;  but  therewith  the  foemen  shot  also, 
and  some  of  the  Dalesmen  were  slain  and  divers 
hurt,  but  that  abated  their  hearts  no  jot.  Then 
Osberne  took  twelve  shafts  from  out  his  quiver 
and  nocked  them  one  after  the  other,  and  every 
time  he  loosed  a  man's  life  went  away  on  the 
arrow-point;  but  bitter  was  his  wrath  and  his 
grief  that  he  might  not  slay  them  all  and  deliver 
his  love.  Many  a  shaft  smote  him,  but  the  more 
part  of  them  fell  off  scatheless  from  the  rings 
of  Hardcastle's  loom.  Now  were  many  of  the 
thieves  slain ;  yet  so  fierce  and  eager  were  they, 
that  the  more  part  would  not  draw  aback,  nay, 
some  there  were  so  hungry  for  that  cruel  slaughter 
of  them  that  they  heeded  not  the  sundering  of  the 
Flood,  but  rushed  on  as  if  there  were  nought  be- 
tween them,  and  fell  over  into  the  boil  of  waters 
and  were  lost  in  the  bottomless  depths.  So  fared 
the  battle,  and  the  ranks  of  the  Dalesmen  began 
to  thin ;  but  Osberne  had  no  thought  of  going 
back  a  foot's  length,  and  his  men  were  so  valiant 
that  they  deemed  nought  evil  save  the  sundering 
of  the  Flood.  Osberne  was  hurt  in  three  places, 
but  not  sorely ;  but  Stephen  bore  a  shaft  in  his 
side,  yet  he  stood  upon  his  feet  and  shot  no  less 
valiantly  than  erst. 

But  now  all  of  a  sudden  the  raging  throng  be- 
fore them  had  some  new  goings-on  in  it  and  began 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  183 

to  sidle  landward,  and  therewithal  beyond  them 
rose  a  great  shout,  and  therein  the  East  Dalers 
knew  the  voice  of  their  kinsmen,  and  they  shouted 
all  together  in  answer  as  they  plied  the  bow,  and 
the  strong-thieves  turned  about  and  ran  yelling 
and  cursing  toward  the  landward  and  the  south- 
west, for  the  West  Dalers  were  upon  them  with 
spear  and  axe  and  sword.  That  was  the  end  of 
the  shot-stour,  and  the  aliens  came  never  again 
that  tide  under  the  shafts  of  the  East  Dalers. 
But  betwixt  the  kenning  of  their  dead  and  the 
tending  of  their  hurt  folk,  they  stood  gazing  out 
anxiously  over  the  field,  if  they  might  but  see  how 
the  battle  of  handy-strokes  had  gone,  and  by  seem- 
ing right  hard  had  it  been  ;  but  in  a  while  they  saw 
the  aliens  thrust  back  and  edging  away  towards 
their  horses,  which  they  had  left  standing  out  of 
bow-shot  not  far  from  the  Bight  of  the  Cloven 
Knoll.  The  West  Dalers  were  following  on, 
smiting  great  strokes,  but  not  so  as  to  be  mingled 
up  with  them ;  nor  did  they  seem  as  if  they  would 
will  to  hinder  them  if  they  should  get  on  their 
horses  and  ride  away ;  and  even  so  they  did  pres- 
ently, and  the  Dalesmen  saw  them  never  again. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII.      OSBERNE   SEEKS 
TIDINGS   OF   ELFHILD. 

NOW  when  this  stour  was  all  over,  and  the 
men  of  the  East  Dale  were  still  standing 
together,  not  very  triumphantly,  because 
of  their  slain,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Cloven  Knoll, 
the  West  Dalers  came  toward  them  treading  the 
field  of  dead  from  which  the  Flood  sundered  them. 
As  aforesaid,  neither  the  East  nor  the  West  had 
heretofore  been  much  wont  to  resort  to  that  place 
because  of  their  dread  of  the  Dwarfs  who  dwelt 
in  the  cave  above  the  whirlpool ;  but  now  the 
passion  of  battle,  and  the  sorrow  for  the  dead,  and 
the  perplexity  of  the  harrying  had  swept  all  that 
out  of  their  minds  a  while.  So  the  chiefs  of  the 
West  Dalers  stood  among  the  corpses  of  the 
aliens  on  the  crown  of  the  ness  where  Elf  hild  was 
wont  to  stand,  and  fell  to  talking  with  their  breth- 
ren of  the  East;  and  the  man  who  took  up  the 
word  for  them  all  was  Wulfstan  of  Coldburne, 
a  stead  of  the  lower  West  Dale.  And  he  fell  to 
praising  the  good  help  which  the  East  Dalers  had 
given  them  by  cleaving  so  manfully  to  the  shot- 
stour,  which  he  said  had  been  their  deliverance ; 
for  delivered  they  looked  to  be.  Albeit,  says  he, 
they  whom  ye  dealt  with  so  manfully,  and  whom 
ye  have  now  put  to  the  road,  be  not  the  whole 
host  of  them,  whereas  while  one  moiety  turned 
aside  to  the  shooting,  the  other  went  on  down  the 
Dale  and  somewhat  away  from  the  Flood  ;  and  we 


THE   SUNDERING     FLOOD  185 

left  our  brethren  marching  against  them,  and  must 
turn  presently  to  their  helping,  lest  they  be  out- 
numbered by  the  strong-thieves.  Yea,  and  already 
we  fear  lest  these  devils  have  wasted  certain  of  our 
steads  which  would  lie  on  their  road  before  our 
folk,  might  fall  in  with  them.  And  now  give  us 
leave  !  but  we  pray  that  ye  may  live  hale  and 
happy  for  the  help  ye  have  given  us ;  and  thou 
in  special,  Osberne  Wulfgrimson,  whom  we  know, 
and  the  tales  of  thee. 

But  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  turning  away, 
Osberne  said  in  a  loud  shrill  voice :  Abide,  mas- 
ter, and  tell  me  one  thing,  to  wit,  the  names 
of  the  steads  which  the  thieves  have  wasted. 
Said  Wulfstan  :  I  may  not,  because  I  know  not : 
hereabout  it  is  thin  of  dwellings  ;  'tis  a  five  miles 
ere  ye  shall  happen  on  a  good  homestead,  Lon- 
gryggs  to  wit :  here  is  nought  but  a  little  stead, 
fallen  to  be  a  cot,  wherein  dwell  none  save  two 
women,  one  old  and  one  young.  It  is  not  like 
that  the  thieves  would  have  stayed  for  so  little  a 
thing.  Farewell ;  if  the  battle  goes  handily  with 
us  ye  shall  have  tidings  thereof  to-morrow  if  ye 
will  come  down  hither ;  or  a  little  lower  down 
maybe,  lest  the  Dwarfs  begrudge  us. 

And  therewith  he  turned  and  went  toward  the 
place  where  they  deemed  they  should  find  the 
battle.  As  for  the  East  Dalers,  they  might  tarry 
no  more  in  looking  to  their  wounded  folk ;  and 
a  many  were  hurt  so  grievously,  that  they  had  to 
be  borne  home  in  the  four  corners ;  of  whom  was 
Stephen  the  Eater,  and  he  lay  long  sick,  but  in 


1 86  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

the  long  last,  and  it  was  a  two  months,  was  healed 
as  well  as  ever  he  was.  A  half  score  were  sore 
hurt  like  to  this ;  but  of  them  who  might  carry 
their  grief  home  on  their  own  legs  were  at  least  a 
score  and  six;  but  thirteen  were  slain  outright. 
And  these  it  was  deemed  good,  after  due  thought 
taken,  to  lay  them  in  earth  in  the  field  but  a  little 
way  from  the  Bight  of  the  Cloven  Knoll ;  and  the 
place  where  they  are  laid,  with  plenteous  earth 
heaped  over  them,  has  ever  since  been  called 
Shooters'  Knowe. 


CHAPTER     XXXIV.       OSBERNE     SOR- 
ROWS  FOR   THE  LOSS   OF  ELFHILD. 

NOW  some  while  before  men  were  boun  to 
depart  to  their  own  homes,  the  sound  of 
fresh  battle  was  borne  to  them  on  the 
south-west ;  so,  saving  those  who  must  needs  go 
tend  the  hurt  on  their  way  home,  they  might  not 
tear  themselves  away  from  that  field  of  deed  ;  and 
in  special  Osberne,  who  had  been  busy  enough  in 
kenning  the  dead  and  wounded  of  his  folk  while 
need  was,  came  back  to  the  verge  of  the  Flood, 
where  so  oft  he  had  stood  in  love  and  joy,  and 
stood  there  a  long  while,  scarce  moving,  with 
a  shaft  in  his  fingers  and  his  bended  bow  in  his 
fist,  his  brows  knit,  and  his  eyes  staring  out  over 
the  western  field.  It  was  two  hours  after  noon 
when  the  West  Dalers  turned  to  stir  up  the  battle 
again.  And  then  was  an  hour  ere  the  clamour  of 
the  fight  came  down  thither,  and  two  hours  yet  it 
endured  and  was  in  all  men's  ears ;  and  then  it 
died  away,  and  the  East  men  began  to  wander  off 
from  the  watching-place,  wending  this  way  and 
that,  and  the  autumn  day  fell  to  wane,  and  soon 
there  were  none  left  save  Osberne  and  a  half 
dozen  of  the  men  of  Wethermel.  And  one  or 
another  of  them  plucked  him  by  the  sleeve,  and 
bade  him  come  home  with  them,  since  the  day 
was  done,  and  the  battle  would  not  quicken  again, 
and  the  West  Dalers  had  overmuch  on  their 
hands  to  bear  them  any  tidings  till  the  morrow 


1 88  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

was  a  new  day.  At  first  he  heeded  them  nought, 
but  in  the  end  he  turned  on  them  with  an  angry 
eye,  yet  spake  mildly,  and  bade  them  get  them 
home  and  eat  and  sleep.  But  leave  me  here, 
quoth  he,  that  I  may  watch  awhile  lest  aught  of 
new  befalleth ;  and  I  will  come  to  Wethermel 
when  my  heart  will  suffer  me.  So  they  departed 
and  left  him  ;  and  there  he  stood,  till  himseemed 
he  had  been  there  a  long,  long  time.  Night 
grew  black  about  him,  and  silence  fell  upon  the 
cloven  plain  of  the  Dale,  save  that  below  him  the 
speech  of  the  eddies  seemed  to  grow  greater  as 
other  voices  failed.  Then  arose  the  wind,  and 
went  through  the  long  grass  and  talked  in  the 
crannies  of  the  rock-wall  of  the  Flood  as  the 
waters  spake  below ;  and  none  came  anear,  nor 
might  he  hearken  any  foot  of  man,  only  far-off 
voices  from  the  steads  of  a  barking  dog  or  crowing 
cock  or  lowing  cow. 

At  last,  when  the  night  was  beginning  to 
change  amidst  the  depths  of  the  darkness,  him- 
seemed he  heard  somewhat  drawing  anigh  and 
coming  up  the  bent  on  the  western  side,  and  he 
wotted  not  but  it  might  be  the  unshod  feet  of 
men,  and  he  lightly  asked  himself  if  the  ghosts 
of  the  dead  made  any  sound  with  their  feet  as 
they  trod  the  puddled  earth  where  a  many  had 
trodden  before  them  ;  and  so  wild  was  his  heart 
grown  now,  that  he  thought  it  no  great  marvel  if 
those  that  they  had  laid  to  earth  there  should 
stand  up  and  come  before  him  in  the  night 
watches.     Then  he  nocked  an  arrow  on  his  bow- 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  189 

string  and  handled  his  weapon,  but  could  not 
make  up  his  mind  to  shoot  lest  the  bow-draft 
should  pierce  the  quiet  and  rouse  up  inextinguish- 
able shrieks  and  moans ;  and  even  therewith, 
above  the  sound  of  those  paddling  feet,  he  seemed 
to  hear  a  voice  beginning  to  cry,  and  he  thought 
within  himself:  Now,  now  it  is  on  the  way,  and 
presently  the  air  shall  be  full  of  it ;  and  will  it 
kindle  fire  in  the  air?  But  at  that  point  of  time 
the  voice  sounded  louder  and  was  in  two  or  three 
places,  and  even  amidst  its  wildness  the  familiar 
sound  smote  to  his  heart,  for  it  was  but  the  bleat- 
ing of  sheep,  and  now  all  the  bent  over  against 
him  was  alive  with  it.  And  of  a  sudden  he  v.'as 
come  to  himself  and  wotted  what  it  was,  that  it 
was  Elfhild's  sheep,  and  that  they  had  been 
loosed  or  thrust  out  from  their  folds,  and  had 
wandered  up  there  in  the  dark  where  so  oft  she 
had  led  them  before.  And  now  the  mere  bitter- 
ness of  grief  took  the  place  of  his  wildness,  and 
he  let  his  bow  and  arrow  drop  to  earth,  and  cast 
himself  down  on  to  the  trodden  ground  and 
buried  his  face  in  his  hands  and  moaned,  and 
speedily  the  images  of  his  life  seemed  to  come, 
and  the  sorrow  he  must  face  passed  through  his 
soul,  for  he  knew  that  she  was  gone,  and  either 
slain  or  carried  away  to  where  he  should  never 
hear  of  her  or  see  her  again. 

At  last,  that  his  grief  and  wanhope  might  not 
rend  his  heart  and  slay  him  then  and  there,  and 
lest  all  the  deeds  whereto  he  was  fated  should  be 
spoiled  and  undone,  self-pity  fell  upon  him  with 


190  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

the  sweet  remembrance  of  his  love,  and  loosed 
the  well  of  his  tears,  and  he  wept  and  wept,  and 
might  not  be  satiated  of  his  mourning  a  long 
while.  But  when  the  night  was  yet  dark  and  no 
sign  of  dawn  in  the  sky,  and,  might  he  have  seen 
it,  the  south-west  wind  was  driving  the  rack  low 
adown  along  the  earth,  he  rose  up  slowly  and  gat 
his  bow  and  arrows  into  his  hands,  and  weakly 
and  stiffly,  like  a  man  who  hath  been  long 
sick,  he  fell  to  going  along  the  river-side  toward 
Wethermel,  and  his  feet  knew  the  way  though 
his  eyes  might  see  it  not.  And  as  he  went,  with 
the  wind  whistling  about  his  ears  and  the  picture 
of  Wethermel  before  his  eyes,  he  found  that  life 
was  come  again  to  him,  and  he  was  beginning  to 
think  about  what  he  should  be  doing  to  win  some 
way  back  to  the  love  that  had  been  rent  from 
him.  Ever  and  anon,  forsooth,  as  he  was  amidst 
such  thoughts,  the  tears  brake  out  from  his  eyes 
again,  but  still  now  he  could  refrain  them  better 
and  better  after  each  outburst,  and  he  had  no 
more  wildness  as  erst,  as  if  he  were  out  of  the 
world  and  drifting  he  knew  not  whither  or  why  ; 
but  now  he  knew  which  was  himself,  and  which 
was  grief  and  pain. 

It  was  but  just  the  grey  of  the  morning  when 
he  crept  into  the  hall  at  Wethermel,  and  found 
his  bed  and  cast  himself  thereon,  and,  all  undone 
by  weariness,  fell  asleep  at  once. 

He  awoke  with  the  house  astir  about  him,  and 
arose  and  sat  down  to  eat  with  the  others,  and 
was  no  harsher  of  speech  than  his  wont,  albeit  he 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  191 

looked  stark,  and  stern;  and  to  some  it  seemed  as 
if  he  had  aged  ten  years  since  yestermorn,  and 
they  deemed  that  the  death  of  the  folk  lay  heavy 
on  him,  as  was  like  to  be,  and  they  said  as  few 
words  to  him  as  might  be,  for  his  grief  seemed 
awful  to  them.  But  when  they  had  eaten  he 
bade  three  of  his  men  come  with  him  down  the 
water  to  seek  tidings  of  the  West  Dalers.  So 
they  went  together,  and  a  little  below  the  Bight 
of  the  Cloven  Knoll,  out  of  ear-shot  of  the 
Dwarf-folk,  they  met  with  others  from  the  lower 
steads  come  upon  the  same  errand  ;  and  the  West 
Dalers  were  just  come  to  the  water-side  with 
Wulfstan  for  their  spokesman,  who  forsooth  had 
gotten  some  scratches  from  the  war-beast,  so  that 
his  head  and  his  arm  were  bandaged.  Now  he 
spake:  Hail  to  you,  stout-hearts  of  the  East! 
Ye  may  deem  that  we  prevailed  in  the  second 
battle  yesterday,  or  ye  would  scarce  have  seen  us 
here  this  morn.  Now  the  battle  was  foughten  all 
about  the  garth  and  the  houses  of  Longryggs, 
which  the  strong-thieves  had  fallen  on  to  waste, 
but  the  women-folk  of  the  stead  had  saved  their 
lives  by  flight,  and  the  carles  thereof  were  in  our 
company  fighting  valiantly.  So  whatever  is  lost 
was  lost  in  open  battle,  wherein  two  score  and 
six  of  our  best  men  have  changed  their  lives ; 
but  as  for  the  strong-thieves,  besides  them  who 
fell  in  your  shot-stour,  we  have  buried  over  seven 
score ;  and  the  rest  are  fled  away,  many  of  them 
grievously  hurt.  Wherefore,  friends,  we  have 
won  a  great  victory:  God  and  his  hallows  keep 


192  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

us  from  any  more  such!  And  it  seemed  as  if 
the  goodman  were  weeping-ripe,  whereof  none 
marvelled.  But  Osberne  spake,  and  the  sound 
of  his  own  voice  seemed  strange  unto  him  :  Tell 
me,  goodman,  have  ye  lost  nought  by  the  murder 
of  men  whenas  the  strong-thieves  fell  on  some 
stead  ?  Nay,  said  Wulfstan,  the  thieves  have 
wasted  no  other  stead  save  Longryggs,  whereas, 
as  I  said,  the  folks  escaped  the  murder,  and  this 
little  ihouse  which  is  hard  hereby  of  Hart  Shaw 
Knolls.  There  forsooth  the  two  women  be  miss- 
ing, but  no  slain  body  of  carle  or  quean  have  we 
found,  nought  of  slaughter  save  the  slaughter  of 
kine  and  sheep.  And  I  must  tell  you  that  this 
morning  our  folk  sought  all  about  heedfuUy,  yea 
and  looked  into  every  thicket  and  nook  of  the 
wood. 

Belike,  quoth  Osberne,  they  will  have  carried 
off  the  two  women  .?  Said  Wulfstan  :  I  fear  me 
it  may  well  be  so.  Said  Osberne :  Well,  this  loss 
of  two  women,  whom  maybe  ye  shall  find  again, 
is  but  little;  but  grievous  is  the  man-fall  of  the 
battles.  Yet  not  soon  meseems  shall  reivers  fall 
upon  West  Dale  now  they  have  learned  the  valour 
of  the  folk  thereof  Heried  be  the  Lord  God 
that  the  folk  yet  liveth  and  shall  live  ! 

He  spake  measuredly  and  in  a  loud  voice,  so 
that  all  heard,  and  they  cheered  his  speech  with 
deep  and  strong  voice ;  but  they  who  stood  nigh- 
est  unto  Osberne  say  that  his  face  was  stern  and 
very  pale  as  he  spake ;  and  it  seemed  to  them 
that  had   Board-cleaver  been  naked  on  the  West 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  193 

side  in  that  stour  yet  more  of  the  strong-thieves 
had  fallen. 

Now  they  parted,  and  Osberne  and  his  Wether- 
melers  went  home,  and  the  other  East  Dalers 
also,  each  to  his  own  place.  But  as  to  the  West 
Dalers,  they  fell  to  and  drew  away  the  slain 
thieves  from  the  field  of  deed,  for  that  they  feared 
the  begrudging  of  the  Dwarfs,  and  they  laid  them 
in  earth  hard  by  where  they  had  stood  to  have 
that  converse  with  them  of  the  East ;  and  they 
raised  a  great  howe  over  them,  and  it  is  called 
Thieves'  Howe  unto  this  day.  And  the  tale  of 
the  said  thieves  who  were  slain  by  the  East 
Dalers  in  the  shot-stour  is  three  score  and  ten 
and  seven. 


«3 


CHAPTER     XXXV.      OSBERNE     SEEKS 
COUNSEL   OF   STEELHEAD. 

WEAR  the  days  hereafter  into  summer, 
and  Osberne  is  at  Wethermel,  and 
doth  what  work  cometh  to  hand  no 
worser  than  heretofore ;  yet  folk  marvel  that  his 
sorrow  over  the  man- fall  of  the  Cloven  battle 
seemeth  to  wear  off  him  but  little,  though  he  is 
mild  and  kind  in  speech  to  all  men.  Much  he 
sat  talking  with  Stephen  the  Eater,  who  in  these 
days  was  growing  whole  of  his  hurts,  and  it  is 
thought  he  learned  some  hidden  lore  from  him, 
for  many  deemed  that  Stephen  was  wise  therein. 
Every  third  day  he  went  all  alone  to  the  Bight 
of  the  Cloven  Knoll,  and  sat  there  long  through 
the  day;  but  never  had  he  any  tidings  of  Elfhild, 
nor  forsooth  did  he  look  for  any  such.  He 
learned  from  over  the  water  that  there  was  no 
newcomer  at  Hart  Shaw  Knolls,  and  that  the 
house  and  earth  lay  waste,  and  so  was  like  to 
abide. 

Now  when  it  lacked  but  three  nights  of  Mid- 
summer, Osberne,  after  he  had  spoken  long  with 
Stephen,  set  some  victual  in  his  scrip,  and  went 
afoot  in  the  evening-tide  up  the  bent  and  over  it 
among  the  mountain-necks,  and  so  into  that 
same  little  dale  where  he  had  first  met  Steelhead. 
There  he  sat  him  down  on  the  grass  by  the 
brook-side  and  ate  his  meat,  and  then,  when  it 
darkened  so  much  as  it  would  that  June  night. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  195 

he  laid  him  down  and  slept  in  all  trust  of  safe- 
keeping. He  awoke  at  the  end  of  dawn  and 
washed  him  in  the  brook,  and  then  clad  him  and 
sat  down  to  abide  sunrise.  Then  even  as  the 
sun  arose  it  smote  a  beam  of  light  from  some 
bright  thing  overtopping  the  crown  of  the  hill- 
side before  him,  and  Osberne  knew  that  there 
was  come  his  friend  Steelhead,  in  such  guise  as 
he  Tiad  first  beheld  him  there ;  which  was  in 
sooth  the  very  thing  which  he  desired. 

So  Osberne  stood  up  to  greet  him,  and  Steel- 
head  came  to  him  and  put  his  arms  about  him 
and  kissed  and  embraced  him,  and  Osberne  wept 
for  pity  and  hope  of  his  life.  Then  said  Steel- 
head  :  I  know  thee  why  thou  art  come  to  me  ; 
a  while  agone  I  laid  my  hands  upon  thee  that  I 
might  make  thy  body  stark  for  all  adventure, 
and  now  thou  wouldst  have  me  do  the  like  for 
the  soul  of  thee.  Herein  will  I  do  what  I  may, 
but  first  we  will  eat  of  the  increase  of  Wethermel, 
that  thou  mayest  see  how  much  I  love  thee  and 
the  land  that  bred  thee. 

So  Osberne  bestirred  him,  and  kindled  the 
cooking-fire  and  made  ready  the  meat,  and  they 
ate  together  in  all  content  and  friendliness.  But 
when  they  were  full  Steelhead  spake :  Now 
whether  wouldst  thou  tell  me  all  thy  tale,  or 
whether  wouldst  thou  be  silent  thereof,  knowing 
that  I  know  it  without  words  spoken  ?  Quoth 
Osberne :  I  would  tell  it.  There  is  yet  time, 
said  Steelhead,  smiling  kindly  on  him,  so  make 
no  tarrying.     Then   Osberne  began  straightway. 


196  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

and  spared  not  words  overmuch,  but  herein  he 
used  the  most  when  he  told  of  Elfhild,  what  she 
was  Hke  in  those  latter  days,  and  how  his  heart 
enfolded  her,  and  how  sweet  was  her  converse 
with  him  ;  and  when  he  was  done  Steelhead  said : 
What  is  in  thy  mind  concerning  dwelling  in  the 
Dale  amidst  thine  own  folk  ?  Said  Osberne : 
My  mind  it  is  to  live  and  die  here,  and  do  all 
that  is  due  to  the  folk  of  my  fathers.  Said  Steel- 
head  :  Then  must  thou  be  healed  of  this  trouble  ; 
that  is,  thou  must  forget  thy  love  and  thy  long- 
ing, or  at  the  least  thou  must  think  more  of  other 
matters  than  of  this.  For  I  will  not  have  it  that 
thou  my  fosterling  shouldst  be  a  kill-joy  among 
men  of  the  kindred  ;  wherefore  ill-luck  will  come 
of  it. 

Said  Osberne,  knitting  his  brows  :  I  will  not 
be  healed  in  this  way.  For  do  I  not  know  that 
she  also  is  wrapped  in  sorrow  and  tormented  by 
longing.  Shall  I  leave  her,  therefore,  as  the 
dastard  leaves  a  wounded  friend  before  the  on- 
coming foeman  ? 

Steelhead  smiled  on  him.  Quoth  he  :  Thou 
wilt  not  be  healed  ?  So  be  it ;  then  mayest  thou 
not  abide  in  the  Dale  amongst  the  kindred,  but 
carry  thy  trouble  to  the  lands  of  the  aliens,  where 
there  is  none  to  remember  the  joyous  face  of  thee 
before  the  trouble  was.  This  may  I  do,  said 
Osberne,  and  even  so  shall  it  be  since  it  is  thy 
will.  But  hast  thou  nought  else  to  say  to  en- 
hearten  me  in  my  travel  ?  This  I  have  thereto, 
quoth  Steelhead,  that  though  the  world  be  wide 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  197 

there  are  many  ways  about  it,  and  meseemeth 
that  there  Is  somewhere  a  way  whereon  thy  feet 
and  Elfhild's  may  draw  toward  one  another. 
Said  Osberne :  May  all  good  hap  go  with  thee 
for  thy  word.  Dost  thou  not  see  how  my  face 
is  already  gladdened  thereby  ?  Said  Steelhead  : 
This  is  hope,  my  son,  that  flareth  up  swiftly  and 
fadeth  soon ;  but  now  this  I  shall  give  to  thee, 
as  I  deem  I  may,  that  never  shalt  thou  lack  hope 
so  long  as  thou  hast  deeds  to  do.  Call  to  mind 
what  thou  thyself  saidst  unto  Elfhild,  that  the 
only  way  to  bridge  the  Sundering  Flood  is  for 
one  of  you,  or  both,  to  wander  wide  in  the  world. 
But  now  tell  me,  what  hast  thou  in  thy  mind  to 
do  in  these  days  that  pass  ?  Said  Osberne  :  I 
have  been  thinking  of  it,  that  when  the  Mid- 
summer Feast  is  over  I  shall  say  farewell  to  my 
folk  and  ride  to  East  Cheaping  to  find  Sir  Med- 
ard  ;  for  meseems  he  is  the  man  whom  I  know 
out  in  the  world  who  will  put  me  in  the  way  of 
deeds.  Said  Steelhead  :  And  wilt  thou  go  alone, 
or  hast  thou  a  mind  to  take  any  with  thee  ? 
Suppose  it  were  Stephen  the  Eater,  who  is  a  man 
of  lore,  and  as  I  do  thee  to  wit,  moreover,  a 
friend  of  our  own  ?  Dost  thou  command  me  to 
have  him  with  me,  lord?  said  Osberne.  Nay, 
said  Steelhead,  I  but  ask  thee  of  thy  mind  in  the 
matter.  Said  Osberne :  Then  I  shall  tell  thee 
that  my  mind  is  to  go  all  birdalone.  I  would 
take  no  part  of  Wethermel  with  me,  lest  I  soften 
towards  the  Dale,  and  turn  back  some  fair  day  of 
summer  and  fall  to  nursing  my  sorrow  therein. 


198  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Moreover  I  know  of  Stephen  that  he  is  both  a 
wise  man  and  a  champion,  and  I  deem  it  were 
well  to  leave  such  an  one  to  uphold  the  good 
days  of  Wethermel ;  so  that  whether  I  do  that 
which  I  would,  and  come  back  in  joy  and  honour  ; 
or  do  it  not,  and  die  away  from  my  place,  not 
without  honour  it  may  be,  I  shall  yet  know  of 
the  thriving  of  my  kindred  and  the  pleasure  of 
Wethermel,  which  shall  yet  be  glorious  on  the 
earth,  even  as  it  were  a  very  living  creature  and 
mine  own  true  friend.  Many  a  time  shall  I 
think  of  it,  in  good  hap  and  in  ill  hap,  in  grief 
and  in  joy. 

Hail  to  thy  word,  son  and  stoutheart !  said 
Steelhead,  for  herein  thou  thinkest  of  it  as  my 
very  heart  would  that  thou  shouldst.  Now  I 
see  that  I  have  indeed  sown  the  seed  of  hope 
in  thee,  and  I  call  it  the  lack  of  fear. 

And  now  he  brought  the  talk  on  other  matters, 
and  was  as  kind  and  friendly  as  might  be,  and 
Osberne  deemed  it  was  a  great  thing  for  him  that 
he  had  so  won  the  love  of  this  noble  wight  and 
great-heart.  So  in  all  pleasure  the  day  sped, 
and  when  it  was  hard  on  sunset  Steelhead  spake : 
Now  must  I  get  me  back  to  my  house  and  home 
of  old  time,  and  thou  shalt  go  home  to  Wether- 
mel the  dear ;  and  now  I  see  of  thee  that  thou 
shalt  hold  a  cheerful  countenance  there,  and  de- 
part when  needs  must  in  honour  and  well-liking 
of  all  men. 

So  they  stood  up,  but  ere  Osberne  turned  his 
face  to  the  west  he  said:    And  when  shall  I  see 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  199 

thee  again,  lord  ?  Who  knows  ?  said  Steelhead ; 
maybe  when  thou  lookest  least  for  me :  on  the 
lonely  marsh  maybe,  or  in  the  thick  of  the  forest ; 
or  in  the  midst  of  the  fierce  battle,  or  on  thy  very 
death-bed ;  or  it  may  be  not  at  all  in  thine 
earthly  life.  And  that  house  whereto  thou  art 
now  going,  shall  I  ever  see  thee  there  ?  said 
Osberne.  Surely  I  deem  that  thou  shalt;  and 
yet  most  surely  not  till  thine  earthly  days  are 
over.  But  now  farewell,  and  my  heart  goes  with 
thee.  Therewith  he  turned  and  was  gone,  and 
Osberne  went  his  ways  to  Wethermel  without 
looking  after  him.  And  now  it  seemed  to  him 
as  if  he  had  been  fain  not  to  have  gone  back  to 
that  well-beloved  stead,  but  to  have  gone  on  east 
at  all  adventure  ;  and  he  looked  toward  the  day 
when  he  must  depart  at  last  as  a  sad  and  sore 
time,  when  hope  would  be  dimmed  by  mere 
sorrow  and  trouble. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI.  THE  STAVES 
V^HICH  OSBERNE  TAUGHT  TO 
THE   DALESMEN. 

NOW  all  folk  at  Wethermel  when  they 
looked  upon  Osberne's  face  deemed  that 
he  was  bettering  of  the  drearihood  which 
had  weighed  on  him  ever  since  the  battle  with 
the  strong-thieves,  and  of  that  bettering  they 
were  right  glad,  for  they  were  wont  to  have 
much  joy  of  his  fellowship.  Came  on  therewith 
the  Midsummer  Feast  of  the  Cloven  Mote, 
which,  as  aforesaid,  was  the  greatest  of  all  the 
feasts  of  the  Dalesmen,  and  Osberne  was  there 
with  a  countenance  of  good  cheer  no  worser  than 
the  best.  Now  at  this  feast  not  only  did  they 
do  in  the  heedfullest  and  solemnest  wise  all  that 
belonged  to  Midsummer,  as  the  trundling  of  the 
fiery  wheel,  and  the  kindling  of  the  bale,  and  the 
leaping  through  the  fire ;  but  also  before  noon, 
and  ere  these  plays  were  begun,  was  high  mass 
sung  in  the  goodliest  fashion  in  each  of  the  two 
churches  of  Allhallows  for  the  good  rest  of  them 
who  had  fallen  manfully  in  battle  with  the  thieves. 
And  last  of  all,  when  the  summer  night  Vv'as  as 
dark  as  it  would  be  before  the  dawn,  and  the  folk 
of  the  two  sides  were  all  ranged  each  in  a  line  on 
their  own  shore  of  the  river,  they  sang  these 
staves  from  side  to  side  across  the  Sundering 
Flood,  the  West  Dalers  beginning  and  then  the 
East  Dalers  taking  it  up : 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  20I 

'Tis  Summer  and  night. 

Little  dusk  and  long  light. 

Little  loss  and  much  gain 

When  the  day  must  needs  wane  ; 

Little  bitter,  much  sweet 

From  the  weed  to  the  wheat  ; 

Little  moan,  mickle  praise 

Of  the  Midsummer  days. 

When  the  love  of  the  sleeping  sun  lieth  along 

And  broodeth  the  acres  abiding  the  song. 

Were  the  Spring  to  come  o'er 

And  again  as  before. 

What  then  would  ye  crave 

From  the  Summer  to  have  ? 

Sweeter  grass  would  ye  pray. 

And  more  lea-lading  hay  ? 

For  more  wheat  would  ye  cry. 

Thicker  swathe  of  the  rye  ? 

Stouter  sons  would  ye  ask  for,  and  daughters  more  dear? 

Well-willers  more  trusty  than  them  ye  have  here  ? 

O  the  wheat  is  yet  green 

But  full  fair  beseen. 

And  the  rye  groweth  tall 

By  the  turfen  wall. 

Thick  and  sweet  was  the  hay 

On  the  lealand  that  lay  ; 

Dear  daughters  had  we. 

Sons  goodly  to  see. 

And  of  all  the  well-willers  ere  trusted  for  true 

The  least  have  ye  failed  us  to  deal  and  to  do. 

What  then  is  this. 
That  the  Summer's  bliss 
Somewhat  ye  fail 
In  your  treasure's  tale  ? 
What  then  have  ye  lost. 
And  what  call  ye  the  cost 
Of  the  months  of  life 
Since  Winter's  strife  ? 


202  THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD 

For  unseldom  the  Summer  sun  curseth  the  Dale 
With  the  tears  thrust  aback  and  the  unuttered  wail. 

Forsooth  o'er- well 

The  tale  may  we  tell  : 

'T  is  the  spear  and  the  sword 

And  the  House  of  the  Sward. 

The  bright  and  the  best 

Have  gone  to  their  rest. 

And  our  eyes  are  blind 

Their  eyes  to  find. 

In  mead  and  house  wend  we  because  they  were  stayed. 

And  we  stand  up  because  in  the  earth  were  they  laid. 

Would  ye  call  them  aback 
Then,  to  look  on  your  lack  ? 

Nay,  we  would  that  their  tale 
From  our  hearts  ne'er  should  fail. 

This  then  maketh  you  sad. 
That  such  dear  death  they  had  ? 

This  night  are  we  sad 

For  the  joy  that  we  had. 

And  their  memory's  beginning 

Great  grief  must  be  winning. 

But  while  weareth  away. 

And  e'en  woe  waxeth  gay. 

In  fair  words  is  it  told. 

Weighed  e'en  as  fine  gold  ; 

Sweet  as  wind  of  the  south 

Grows  the  speech  in  the  mouth. 

And  from  father  to  son  speeds  the  tale  of  the  true. 

Of  the  brave  that  forbore  that  the  brethren  might  do. 

When  this  was  sung  then  each  man  went  home 
to  his  house.  But  it  is  said  that  these  staves 
were  made  by  Osberne,  and  that  he  taught  them 
to  the  Western  men  as  well  as  to  the  Eastern. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII.     OSBERNE 
TAKES    LEAVE    OF   WETHERMEL. 

THE  next  day  at  even,  when  all  the  folk  were 
gathered  before  the  porch  of  the  hall 
at  Wethermel,  making  the  most  of  that 
fair  time,  Osberne  craved  silence  awhile,  and 
when  men  were  hushed  he  spake  :  Kinsmen  and 
friends,  I  make  it  known  to  you  that  I  must 
needs  depart  from  you  to-morrow  morning, 
though  wheresoever  I  may  be  I  shall  ever  hold 
in  my  heart  the  hope  of  coming  back  to  Weth- 
ermel ;  for  it  will  be  well  enough  known  to  most 
of  you  that  I  love  the  Dale  with  great  love,  and 
this  stead  in  especial.  But  now  I  may  not  abide 
here  longer,  to  such  a  pass  are  things  come  with 
me. 

The  story  of  the  wherefore  of  this  were  long  to 
tell  if  1  had  the  heart  to  tell  it,  which  I  have  not. 
But  this  much  may  I  say,  that  I  go  to  seek  a  life 
which  will  lead  me  back  to  Wethermel,  it  may  be 
in  joy,  it  may  be  in  sorrow,  but  in  either  case  with 
such  a  heart  in  me  as  I  may  live  the  rest 'of  my 
days  in  the  Dale,  doing  all  that  is  due  to  the  kindred 
and  the  folk.  Now  it  will  be  of  no  avail  for  any 
to  strive  to  put  me  from  this  mind,  or  to  hinder 
me  in  my  purpose,  for  go  I  must  and  will.  But 
this  even,  as  we  sit  amidst  the  summer  and  our 
hearts  are  softened  by  beholding  the  peace  and 
abundance  of  the  Dale,  and  thinking  of  all  days  that 
have  been,  and  our  fathers  that  have  lived  and  died 


204  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

here,  I  will  ask  you  all  and  each  one  of  you  to  say 
straightway  if  in  any  wise  I  have  wronged  or  hurt 
you  ;  and  if  I  have,  then  will  I  make  atonement 
to  my  power  :  so  that  since  I  may  not  bear  away 
with  me  Wethermel  and  its  folk,  I  may  at  least 
bear  away  the  love  of  it.  When  they  heard  these 
words  of  his  they  were  mostly  exceeding  down- 
cast, for  in  sooth  to  every  one  of  them  his  fellow- 
ship seemed  both  a  joy  and  a  safeguard;  and  of 
the  women,  some  were  moved  to  tears,  let  alone 
his  grandame  and  his  foster-mother.  Albeit  he 
had  told  his  mind  beforehand  to  Stephen  the 
Eater,  who  had  dight  him  all  things  ready  for 
departure. 

Now  there  was  neither  carle  nor  quean  amongst 
them  all  who  had  a  word  to  say  against  him,  or 
might  call  to  mind  aught  but  kindness  at  his 
hands  ;  and  one  after  the  other  they  all  said  so 
much.  But  when  they  were  done,  and  there  was 
silence  again,  Osberne  spake  :  Thou,  grandsire, 
art  the  master  of  Wethermel,  but  of  late  years 
hast  thou  suffered  me  to  share  in  thy  mastership ; 
nay,  thou  hast  laid  many  charges  on  me  which 
I  have  taken,  and  done  with  them  according  to 
my  might.  Now  therefore  meseemeth  that  thou 
wouldst  scarce  have  it  othervv^ise  but  that  some- 
what of  my  redes  and  my  will  and  my  might 
should  be  left  after  me  when  I  am  gone ;  but  if  I 
err  in  this  my  thought,  1  pray  thee  say  as  much, 
and  I  will  leave  the  matter  where  it  stands,  and 
thou  to  be  sole  and  only  master  of  Wethermel 
whiles  I  am  away. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  205 

Spake  Nicholas  thereat,  and  said  that  freely 
would  he  grant  it  that  Osberne's  redes  and  well- 
doing should  still  be  felt  at  Wethermel,  and  that 
for  his  own  part  the  governance  of  an  house  so 
great  and  lordly  as  Wethermel  had  now  become 
was  overmuch  of  a  burden  to  him,  and  that  gladly 
would  he  take  to  any  man  whom  Osberne  would 
put  in  his  place  ;  and  in  good  sooth  he  deemed 
he  wotted  who  it  would  be. 

Then  turned  Osberne  unto  Stephen  and  said  : 
Thou,  Stephen,  art  more  in  the  heart  of  my  redes 
than  any  man  else,  and  thou  art  both  a  wise 
man,  as  I  deem,  and  a  proven  champion ;  so  if  I 
leave  thee  here  in  my  skin,  wilt  thou  do  the  best 
for  me,  and  be  debonair  with  Master  Nicholas 
here  and  with  my  grandame,  and  kind  to  all  the 
folk  ?  Said  Stephen :  I  will  do  my  best  thereto, 
and  will  pray  this  of  the  folk,  that  they  will  not 
hate  me  because  I  am  not  thou.  At  that  word 
all  they  gave  him  a  welcome  cheer,  whereas  their 
hearts  burned  within  them  for  love  of  Osberne 
and  for  praise  of  his  words,  and  for  sorrow  of 
losing  him  and  hope  of  his  return ;  so  that  at 
that  point  of  time  themseemed  they  might  promise 
anything. 

But  Osberne  said:  Stephen,  my  friend  and 
fellow,  reach  out  thine  hand,  that  I  may  give  thee 
hansel  before  all  these  of  what  mastership  there  is 
in  me.  Even  so  did  Stephen,  and  they  clasped 
hands  thereon. 

After  this  Osberne  looked  about  him  and  said  : 
Lo,  friends,  how  the  dusk  has  been  creeping  on 


2o6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

us  amidst  all  this  talk.  So  now  do  ye  women 
dight  the  board  and  light  the  candles  within  the 
hall,  that  we  may  eat  and  drink  together  this  last 
time  for  a  long  while. 

Even  so  it  was  done,  and  all  folk  sat  to  meat, 
and  thereafter  was  the  drink  brought  in,  and  they 
drank  all  a  cup  to  Osberne,  and  he  to  them ;  and 
then  was  the  cup  filled  for  Wethermel,  and  then 
again  for  the  Dale ;  and  the  last  cup  was  for 
Osberne's  luck.  Then  came  a  word  into  his 
mouth,  and  he  stood  up  and  sang: 

From  the  Wethermel  reek 

I  set  me  to  seek 

The  world-ways  unkenned 

And  the  first  of  the  end. 

For  when  out  there  I  be 

Each  way  unto  me 

Shall  seem  nought  save  it  lead 

Back  to  Wethermel' s  need. 

And  many  a  twilight  twixt  dawning  and  day 

Shall  the  feet  of  the  waker  dream  wending  the  way. 

When  the  war-gale  speeds 

Point-bitter  reeds. 

And  the  edges  flash 

O'er  the  war-board's  clash. 

Through  the  battle's  rent 

Shall  I  see  the  bent. 

And  the  gables'  peace 

Midst  the  Dale's  increase. 

And  the  victory-whooping  shall  seem  to  me  oft 

As  the  Dale-shepherd's  cry  where  the  reek  wends  aloft. 

When  to  right  and  left 
The  ranks  are  cleft. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  207 

And  the  edges  wan 

Mate  master  and  man. 

It  shall  be  as  the  fall 

Of  a  hindering  wall 

Twixt  my  blade  and  me 

And  the  garth  on  the  lea ; 

So  shall  day  unto  day  tell  the  hope  of  the  year. 

And  season  on  season  shall  draw  the  Dale  near. 

This  they  deemed  kindly  sung  and  well ;  and 
now  so  high  rose  their  hearts,  that  it  was  to  them 
as  if  they  saw  the  day  of  his  returning  and  the 
gladness  of  fellowship  renewed. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII.  OSBERNE 
PARTS  FROM  STEPHEN  THE 
EATER. 

THE  next  morning  Osberne  went  his  way 
riding  on  a  good  horse,  and  not  without 
treasure  in  his  scrip.  He  was  girt  to 
Board-cleaver  and  had  the  wonder-bow  and  shafts 
with  him  ;  but  the  byrny,  Hardcastle's  Loom,  he 
left  behind,  and  had  but  a  white  basnet  on  his 
head,  for  he  deemed  that  his  friend  Sir  Medard 
would  purvey  him  of  armour.  All  the  household 
were  without  in  the  garth  to  see  him  off,  but  none 
went  further  with  him  save  Stephen  the  Eater, 
who  rode  with  him  as  far  as  the  bent,  and  closely 
and  lovingly  they  spake  together  on  the  way. 
But  when  they  were  come  to  the  crown  of  the 
bent  Osberne  drew  rein  and  said :  Now,  my 
friend,  shalt  thou  turn  about  and  let  me  go  my 
ways.  And  they  turned  both  and  looked  down 
on  Wethermel,  and  Stephen  cast  his  arm  abroad 
and  spake :  Best-beloved  of  all  men,  how  long 
deemest  thou  it  shall  be  ere  thou  seest  this 
again  ^ 

I  wot  not,  said  Osberne ;  I  am  in  the  hands  of 
Weird,  to  wend  as  she  will  have  me :  but  I  will 
tell  thee  that  I  have  hoped  and  prayed  that  it 
might  be  in  no  longer  space  than  five  years ;  then 
shall  I  be  of  twenty  years  and  three,  and  she  but 
a  few  weeks  younger,  and  manhood  and  woman- 
hood   and  due   service  of  the   kindred  shall  lie 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  209 

before  us  both  if  I  find  her  alive ;  but  if  I  find 
her  dead,  or  have  sure  witness  that  so  she  is,  that 
moment  shall  I  turn  my  face  and  come  back  to 
you,  to  live  and  die  with  you  as  I  may.  There 
is  the  third  thing  left,  to  wit,  that  I  may  wander 
about  the  world  and  find  her  not  till  I  am  exceed- 
ing old ;  but  even  then  shall  I  come  back  with 
her,  or  the  memory  of  her.  Now  I  will  not  say 
remember  me,  for  therein  I  trust  thee,  but  I  will 
bid  thee  live  hale  and  merry,  that  when  I  see  thee 
again  thy  face  may  be  as  little  changed  as  may 
be.  Therewith  they  parted,  and  Osberne  looked 
not  back  again. 


14 


CHAPTER   XXXIX.     OSBERNE   GETS 
HIM   A   NEW    MASTER. 

ON  the  second  day  thereafter  he  rode  through 
the  gate  of  East  Cheaping,  and  so  up  the 
street  to  the  Castle ;  and  many  of  the 
townsmen  knew  him,  and  cried  out  good  welcome 
unto  him,  but  he  stayed  not  for  any,  but  came 
his  ways  to  the  Castle,  and  lighted  down  in  the 
forecourt  and  asked  for  Sir  Medard.  Here  also 
was  he  well  known,  and  men  were  joyful  of  his 
coming,  and  asked  him  many  things  of  his  doings 
and  his  welfare ;  but  he  answered  as  shortly  as  he 
might,  and  still  asked  for  Sir  Medard ;  and  they 
said  that  he  might  see  him  straightway,  for  that 
he  was  sitting  in  the  solar,  and  albeit  he  had  a 
guest  with  him,  they  doubted  not  but  that  the 
good  knight  would  be  fain  of  seeing  his  fellow-in- 
arms. So  they  led  him  in,  and  Sir  Medard  arose 
at  once  and  greeted  Osberne  with  great  joy,  and 
embraced  and  kissed  him.  Then  he  turned  to 
the  other  man  who  was  in  the  solar  with  him,  and 
said :  Lo  thou,  Sir  Godrick,  here  is  a  champion 
whom  thou  wilt  be  glad  to  talk  to,  meseemeth, 
when  we  have  drunk  a  cup.  Therewith  he  called 
for  wine  and  spices,  for  it  was  the  time  of  the 
morning  bever.  Sir  Godrick  hailed  Osberne, 
who  looked  on  him  and  saw  that  he  was  a  tall 
man,  long-armed  and  very  strong-looking,  a  man 
swart  of  visage,  long-nosed  and  long-chinned, 
with  light  grey  eyes ;   he  was  somewhat  sober  of 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  211 

aspect,  as  if  it  would  be  hard  to  get  a  laugh  or 
even  a  smile  out  of  him  ;  but  though  he  was  not 
goodly  there  was  nought  evil-looking  in  his  face. 
He  looked  downright  and  hard  at  Osberne,  and 
said  :  If  Sir  Medard  speaketh  not  by  way  of  jest, 
thou  hast  begun  early,  young  man,  and  I  wish 
thee  joy  thereof  Osberne  reddened  and  held  his 
peace ;  but  Medard  said :  There  be  of  our  foe- 
men  no  few,  who  if  ever  they  jested  at  the  lad 
have  done  with  it  now  forever.  Osberne  red- 
dened yet  more  if  it  might  be ;  but  the  long  man 
took  him  by  the  hand  and  spake  kindly  to  him, 
and  said :  Be  not  troubled  at  a  light  word  of 
mine ;  at  the  first  thou  didst  seem  so  young  and 
fair  that  it  was  not  easy  to  think  of  thee  grim 
amongst  the  edges ;  but  many  a  man  lies  hid 
within  himself. 

So  now  they  were  served  of  the  wine,  and  Sir 
Medard  spake  to  Osberne  :  Well,  Dalesman,  thou 
art  come  amongst  us  again,  grown  in  manliness,  as 
was  like  to  be.  Now  if  thou  be  come  but  to  see  us 
and  make  us  merry  with  thy  fellowship,  it  is  well ; 
but  if  thou  have  an  errand,  and  would  ask  some- 
thing of  us,  it  is  better  yet,  since  forsooth  we  deem 
that  we  owe  thee  somewhat.  Said  Osberne : 
Well  then,  true  it  is  that  I  have  an  errand  and 
crave  something,  and  that  is  soon  told ;  for  I 
would  have  thee  put  me  in  the  way  of  deeds  to  do, 
since  I  have  left  the  Dale  and  am  seeking  adven- 
tures. That  will  be  the  least  of  things  to  do  for 
thee,  my  friend,  said  Medard ;  and  in  good  time 
comest  thou  hither  ;  for  though  the  good  town  is 


212  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

in  all  peace  and  lacks  not  men,  yet  here  is  Sir 
Godrick  of  Longshaw,  who  is  here  with  me  partly 
for  the  gathering  of  men.  But  good  must  they 
be  who  ride  with  him,  and  all  without  fear,  whereas 
I  shall  tell  thee  that  he  is  the  hardiest  knight  and 
most  fearless  rider  of  these  days.  Now  do  ye  two 
talk  it  over  together. 

Osberne  looked  Sir  Godrick  in  the  face,  and 
ever  the  more  he  beheld  him  the  better  he  liked 
the  looks  of  his  eyes  and  his  visage.  So  now 
spake  the  Knight :  How  sayest  thou,  young  man  ^ 
After  all  I  have  heard  of  thee  I  may  well  ask  thee 
to  be  of  mine.  Only  I  must  tell  thee  that  the 
work  may  be  both  hard  and  rough ;  and  though 
there  may  be  somewhat  to  be  won,  yet  on  the 
other  hand  the  pay  may  be  little  more  than  leave 
to  do  the  work.  Said  Osberne :  So  far  as  that 
goes,  I  am  well  willing  to  take  my  chance  of  it ; 
but  there  is  one  thing  which  might  stand  in  the 
way  of  service  with  thee.  What  is  that.?  said  Sir 
Godrick.  Said  Osberne :  It  is  in  my  mind  that 
from  henceforth  for  a  while  my  days  should  pass 
in  some  land  that  is  far  hence,  that  is,  from  mine 
own  place,  and  rather  to  the  south  than  the  north. 

Where  dwelleth  thy  kindred  then  ?  said  God- 
rick. In  the  Dale  which  is  cleft  by  the  Sunder- 
ing Flood,  said  Osberne,  up  under  the  great 
mountains  ;  and  I  am  of  the  East  Dale,  else  scarce 
had  I  been  here.  Well,  said  the  Knight,  my 
chiefest  house,  which  hight  Longshaw,  lieth  a  long 
way  south  of  this  ;  but  I  shall  tell  thee  that  it  is  no 
great  way  from  the  Sundering  Flood,  but  betwixt 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  213 

it  and  the  Flood  is  a  great  waste  and  forest.  As 
to  the  Flood,  it  is  there,  where  it  runs  through 
this  forest  which  is  called  the  Masterless  Wood,  a 
mighty  great  river,  whereon  are  barges  and  cut- 
ters and  seagoing  dromonds  even,  so  that  it  sun- 
ders nought,  but  joins  rather.  Now  besides  my 
house  of  Longshaw,  which  is,  as  it  were,  the  knop 
and  ouch  of  my  manors,  I  have  other  houses  and 
strongholds,  some  of  which  be  in  the  very  forest 
itself,  and  none  of  them  more  than  a  little  way 
thence.  For,  sooth  to  say,  the  said  forest  is  a 
shield  and  a  refuge  to  me,  and  I  had  been  over- 
come long  ago  save  for  its  warding.  I  must  tell 
thee  further,  that  the  southernmost  skirts  of  the 
said  forest  come  down  within  a  score  of  miles  of 
the  great  city  by  the  sea  which  men  call  the  City 
of  the  Sundering  Flood  ;  and  that  the  city-folk 
love  the  forest  little,  save  they  might  master  it  and 
make  it  their  own,  wherein  they  have  failed  hith- 
erto, praise  be  to  Allhallows  !  For  then  were  I 
their  very  outlaw  ;  whereas  now  there  be  others  of 
the  knighthood  who  dwell  anigh  me  who  deem 
that  I  have  the  right  of  it  in  warding  my  lands  and 
theirs  from  these  king-ruled  chapmen ;  more  by 
token  that  the  day  may  come  when  the  folk  of 
their  own  town,  as  the  guilds  of  the  Lesser  Crafts 
and  the  husbandmen  and  simple  mariners,  may  rise 
against  them,  deeming  them,  as  the  truth  is,  hard 
masters  and  tyrants.  Wherefore,  despite  all  their 
mastership,  when  I  will  and  have  occasion  thereto, 
I  may  ride  their  streets  in  safety,  for  they  wot  that 
if  they  laid  a  hand  on  me  or  mine  it  would  be  Bills 


214  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  bows  !  bills  and  bows  !  up  one  street  and  down 
another.  Wherefore  they  meddle  not  with  me 
themselves,  but  set  two  or  three  of  the  barons  who 
hold  of  them  on  the  east  side  of  the  Wood  Mas- 
terless  to  harry  me  from  time  to  time.  Lo  thou, 
lad,  now  thou  knowest  not  only  whereabouts  thou 
mayest  go  to  serve  me,  but  also  some  deal  of  the 
quarrel  wherein  thou  shalt  draw  sword,  if  it  come 
to  that.     How  sayest  thou  ? 

Wait  a  while,  Sir  Knight,  said  Osberne,  and  tell 
me  first :  if  the  King  of  the  city  overcome  thee, 
will  he  take  from  thee  that  which  is  thine  own  of 
right,  or  that  which  thou  hast  taken  from  some 
other  .?  He  will  take  nothing  more  than  my  life, 
said  Sir  Godrick  ;  but  ye  may  add  thereto  some 
small  matter  of  the  remnants  of  houses  and  land 
which  erst  my  fathers  owned,  well-beloved  of  all 
folk.  Forsooth  here  and  there  I  hold  some  tower 
or  strength  which  I  have  taken  from  my  foemen, 
who  dared  me  thereto.  Good  is  that,  said  Os- 
berne ;  now  would  I  ask  of  another  thing :  when 
thou  hast  been  so  pushed  to  it  that  thou  must 
needs  burn  men  in  their  house,  has  it  been  the 
wont  of  thee  and  thine  to  let  the  old  men  and 
women  and  children  come  out  safe,  or  to  burn 
them  in  with  the  rest  ?  The  Knight  looked 
grimly  on  him,  and  said  :  Friend  of  the  Dale,  if 
thou  comest  to  be  my  man,  and  thou  dost  such 
evil  deeds  as  to  burn  in  them  that  may  make  no 
defence,  then  if  thou  escapest  hanging  at  my 
hands  thou  mayst  call  me  thy  dastard  thence- 
forward. 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  215 

Quoth  Osberne :  One  thing  more  I  would  ask 
yet :  If  those  guilds  of  craft  aforesaid  should 
rise  up  against  their  King  and  the  tyrants  of  the 
Porte,  and  they  sent  to  thee  for  help,  wouldst 
thou  give  them  so  much  help  as  not  to  be  against 
them,  but  let  them  fight  it  out  and  the  mightiest 
to  prevail  ?  Or  how  much  more  wouldst  thou 
give  ?  Stood  up  Sir  Godrick  therewith  and  was 
very  wroth.  Said  he:  If  these  good  fellows  of 
the  Lesser  Crafts  rise  up  against  their  lords  and 
send  to  me,  then  if  they  have  gotten  to  them  so 
much  as  the  littlest  of  the  city  gates,  or  if  it  be  but 
a  dromond  on  the  river,  then  will  I  go  to  them 
with  all  mine,  and  leave  house  and  lands  behind, 
that  we  may  battle  it  out  side  by  side  to  live  or 
die  together.  Or  if  they  may  not  do  so  much  as 
that,  yet  if  all  or  any  of  them  may  win  out-a- 
gates and  turn  their  heads  towards  Longshaw, 
then  will  I  ride  to  meet  them  with  everything  that 
may  bear  spear  or  axe,  and  I  will  have  them  home 
with  me  and  arm  them  and  clothe  them  and  feed 
them  and  house  them,  and  my  lands  shall  be  their 
lands,  and  bite  and  drop  shall  we  share  together, 
so  long  as  it  holds  out :  and  a  noble  host  shall  we 
gather,  and  harry  the  King  and  his  dastards  till  we 
prevail  at  last,  and  we  will  have  a  new  rule  of  the 
City  and  a  new  Porte,  and  I  will  be  the  captain 
thereof  if  they  will  have  it  so,  or  else  to  die  in  the 
pain.  Now  I  say  this  is  the  least  that  I  shall  do. 
And  if  any  man  be  so  bold  as  to  tell  me  to  my  face 
that  I  will  do  less,  I  say  that  he  lies  in  his  throat ; 
and  that  shall  I  prove  on  him,  body  to  body. 


21 6  THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Now  Sir  Medard  fell  a-laughing,  and  he  said  : 
There,  there  !  here  is  no  champion  so  hardy  as  to 
gainsay  thee ;  for  I  know  thee  well,  old  friend, 
that  thou  art  preux  above  all  men.  And  as  for 
the  Dalesman,  look  on  him  and  see  how  his  eyes 
are  glittering  and  his  cheeks  flushing.  Trust  me, 
thou  shalt  have  a  man  after  thine  own  heart, 
young  though  he  be. 

Sir  Godrick  sat  down  and  passed  his  hand 
over  his  brow,  and  he  smiled  a  little,  and  said  : 
Well,  thou  of  the  East  Dale,  hast  thou  perchance 
yet  another  question  to  ask  ?  for  meseems  for  a 
man  who  would  take  wages  of  me  thou  hast 
already  asked  a  few. 

Quoth  Osberne  :  Lord,  be  not  wroth,  but  one 
more  question  have  I  to  ask.  And  as  to  my 
wages,  let  that  be  ;  for  to  ask  these  questions,  and 
to  have  them  thus  answered,  is  better  than  wages 
to  me.  But  now  this  is  verily  my  last  question. 
That  Masterless  Wood  which  thou  hast  said  is  a 
shield  and  refuge  to  thee,  is  it  not  also  a  refuge 
for  rufflers  and  runagates  and  strong-thieves  ^  and 
what  dost  thou  do  in  dealing  with  such  ill-doers  ? 

Now  Sir  Godrick  spake  quietly  and  said  :  My 
lad,  true  it  is  that  there  is  a  sort  of  folk  who 
haunt  the  said  wood  and  live  .by  taking  from 
others,  but  thou  shalt  wot  that  they  do  but  little 
harm  to  husbandmen  and  other  poor  folk, 
because  such  have  little  to  be  robbed  of.  And 
forsooth  many  of  those  from  whom  they  rob  are 
worthy  to  lose  that  which  they  have  gotten  from 
poor  folk  by  fraud  and  covin,  and  may  as  duly 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  217 

be  called  thieves  as  those  that  waylay  them. 
Nevertheless  we  suffer  not  the  said  runagates  to 
live  and  rob  wholly  in  peace  ;  and  if  we  take 
them,  they  have  the  choice  of  a  high  gallows  or 
somewhat  hard  service  under  my  captains.  Nay, 
if  it  be  proven  of  them  that  they  have  been  mur- 
derous and  cruel,  they  may  not  forego  the  dance 
in  the  air,  even  as  I  said  afore.  Now  then, 
deemest  thou  me  so  evil  a  lord  ?  or  dost  thou 
deem  thee  meet  for  nought  save  the  host  of 
heaven  and  to  be  a  sergeant  of  the  blessed 
Michael  himself?   may  he  help  and  save  us  ! 

Said  Osberne  :  That  may  come  to  pass,  lord, 
one  day,  but  meanwhile  1  pray  thee  receive  me  as 
thy  man,  and  thou  shalt  find  that  I  am  not  so  ill 
at  obeying  a  commandment  as  ye  may  deem. 

And  therewith  he  knelt  before  the  Knight  and 
put  his  hands  between  his  hands,  and  swore  by 
Allhallows  to  be  true  to  him. 

Sir  Godrick  was  well  pleased,  and  said  to  Sir 
Medard :  Hath  he  done  aught  hitherto  for  which 
I  might  dub  him  a  knight  ?  Many  deeds,  said 
Sir  Medard,  hath  he  done  whereby  he  might  be 
made  a  knight ;  but  he  will  not  have  it  because 
his  kindred  are  not  and  were  not  of  the  knight- 
hood, albeit  men  of  honour. 

Well,  said  Sir  Godrick,  in  these  matters  let 
each  man  go  his  own  way,  so  let  it  be  as  it  will  ; 
yet  some  name  shall  I  give  him  that  he  may  be 
known  by  it.  And  lo  thou,  he  is  clad  all  in  red, 
and  ruddy  of  countenance  is  he,  and  his  sprout- 
ing  beard    shall    be    red   when   it   hath    grown 


21 8  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

greater,  though  his  hair  is  yellow  and  shiny  as 
glass.  Wherefore  now  I  shall  call  him  the  Red 
Lad ;  and  by  that  name  meseemeth  he  shall  be 
known  far  and  wide. 

Then  they  laughed  all  three,  and  the  two 
knights  drank,  both  of  them,  to  the  Red  Lad,  and 
Osberne  pledged  them  and  thanked  them  in  turn. 
And  well  content  was  he  with  the  way  that  things 
had  gone. 


CHAPTER   XL.     OSBERNE   RIDES 
WITH    SIR   GODRICK. 

OSBERNE  tarried  at  East  Cheaping  for 
half  a  month  while  Sir  Godrick  was 
doing  his  business,  which  was,  in  short, 
gathering  good  men  for  his  fellowship  ;  at  the 
end  of  that  time  he  had  gotten  him  one  score  and 
five  besides  Osberne,  of  whom  a  half  score  were 
well  known  to  Osberne  from  the  war  of  Deep- 
dale  :  and  he  was  fain  of  them. 

At  last  they  departed,  and  Sir  Medard  took 
a  kind  leave  of  Osberne.  And  Sir  Godrick  rode 
oftenest  beside  the  Red  Lad  and  talked  much 
with  him.  They  had  a  let-pass  through  the 
lands  of  the  Baron  of  Deepdale,  but  he  would 
not  suffer  Sir  Godrick  to  take  any  men  from  his 
country.  So  they  came  to  Deepham,  which  was 
the  Baron's  chief  town,  in  a  very  fair  and  fertile 
dale,  well  watered.  And  there  was  nought  for  it 
but  the  Baron  would  see  the  Red  Lad,  for  Sir 
Godrick  must  needs  speak  of  him  to  the  lord ; 
and  it  must  be  said  that  there  was  now  no 
enmity  between  the  Baron  and  East  Cheaping. 
So  the  Baron  feasted  them  well  amongst  his  folk 
in  his  great  hall  ;  and  when  he  saw  Osberne  he 
knew  him,  and  had  been  told  as  aforesaid  that 
the  Red  Lad  had  been  at  the  carrying  him  away 
from  the  midst  of  his  warriors;  but  the  Baron 
hailed  him  merrily,  and  cried  out  to  Sir  Godrick  : 
Sir  Knight,  if  thou  wouldst  have  any  man-stealing 


220  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

done  thou  art  in  the  luck  of  it,  for  this  youngUng 
is  a  past-master  in  the  craft.  And  before  the 
feast  was  over  he  sent  for  Osberne  to  talk  to 
him,  and  asked  many  things  concerning  the  war 
as  Osberne  saw  it  from  his  side ;  and  he  showed 
that  he  owed  him  no  grudge  for  the  stealing,  for 
he  gave  Osberne  gifts,  a  fair  gown  of  crimson 
cloth  of  gold  and  a  ruby  ring.  So  all  went  well : 
nevertheless  Osberne  was  nought  loth  to  leave 
Deepham,  and  thought  it  not  ill  that  his  life  lay 
not  over-nigh  to  the  lord  thereof. 

Now  when  they  had  left  the  lands  of  Deepdale 
they  turned  away  toward  the  south,  and  rode  two 
days  through  a  fair  country  and  peaceful,  of  much 
tillage,  besprinkled  with  goodly  thorpes,  where 
they  had  entertainment  for  their  money  and  none 
seemed  to  fear  them  ;  and  there  they  saw  no  men- 
at-arms,  and  but  few  carles  that  bore  any  weapon 
save  whittle  or  boar-spear.  At  the  end  of  that 
land  they  came  to  a  good  town  walled  and  warded  ; 
and  there  none  hindered  them,  for  the  Knight 
had  acquaintance  with  the  captain  of  the  Porte, 
who  had  gathered  him  a  half  dozen  of  stout  carles, 
and  there  they  rested  three  days.  Thence  they 
rode  one  day  amidst  the  same  fair  country,  and 
then  entered  a  forest  through  which  was  a  way 
which  led  them  a  little  west  of  south.  The  said 
forest  gave  out  in  three  days,  and  then  they  came 
into  a  wide  valley  watered  by  a  fair  river  running 
due  west.  The  said  valley  was  more  for  pasture 
than  tillage,  so  that  it  was  not  thickly  housed, 
albeit  when  they  had  crossed  the  river  they  came 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  221 

on  to  a  big  stead  of  many  houses  (and  It  was 
evening)  much  peopled,  and  the  folk,  who  had 
seen  their  riding,  were  standing  with  weapons 
outside  the  houses.  But  when  Sir  Godrick  had 
ridden  forward  and  given  out  his  name  and  his 
errand,  to  wit,  that  he  was  riding  to  Longshaw 
with  some  good  fellows  who  were  fain  to  be  of 
his  folk,  they  all  cried  out  a  fair  welcome  to  him 
and  his  ;  for  they  knew  of  his  deeds  and  his  fame, 
and  were  well-willers  to  him,  and  were  fain  of 
seeing  him  this  first  time.  Then  stood  forth  an 
old  long-hoary  man,  but  tall  and  stark,  and  gave 
himself  out  for  the  master  of  the  stead,  which 
hight  River-lease,  and  he  named  him  David,  and 
said:  Sir  Knight,  I  am  father  often  of  these  men 
and  the  grandsire  of  one  score  and  five,  and  other 
good  fellows  I  have  with  me  to  the  tale  of  ten 
score  and  ten,  and  all  these  thou  wilt  make 
merry  by  thy  presence  here  to-night.  So  he 
brought  the  Knight  and  his  into  the  hall, 
and  fair  greeting  he  gave  them  ;  and  to  Osberne, 
though  the  land  were  other  and  the  houses  far 
bigger,  for  this  David  was  as  it  were  a  king  of 
the  meadows,  it  was  almost  as  if  he  were  back  at 
Wethermel,  so  yeomanly  and  free  seemed  all  about 
him.  And  the  folk  were  a  fair  folk,  the  women 
goodly  and  the  men  free  and  bold.  So  all  men 
were  merry  and  thought  but  little  of  the  morrow. 
But  ere  the  feast  was  over  the  old  David  spake 
to  the  good  Knight  and  said:  Sir  Godrick, 
meseems  thou  shalt  have  many  a  foeman  on  thy 
back  these  coming  seasons,  wherefore  if  any  of  my 


222  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

grandsons  or  the  swains  here  have  a  longing  to 
ride  with  thee  and  become  thy  men,  I  will  spare 
them  to  thee  to  the  number  of  a  half  score. 
How  say  ye,  lads,  cried  he  down  the  hall,  be 
there  any  here  who  desire  to  see  how  the  lord  of 
Longshaw  arrayeth  his  battles,  and  would  bring 
back  some  fair  stories  to  the  maidens'  ears  ?  Now 
it  was  soon  seen  that  no  few  there  were  that  would 
be  fain  to  ride  with  the  Knight,  who  soon  had  his 
choice  of  ten  tall  men,  stout,  and  deft  in  weapons, 
and  the  end  of  the  feast  was  merrier  than  the 
beginning. 

Next  morning  they  were  away  early,  and  the 
old  man  led  them  out  over  his  meadows,  which 
were  exceeding  rich  of  neat  and  sheep ;  and  at 
parting  he  said  :  Fair  Knight  of  Longshaw,  I  have 
gone  as  far  as  I  may  this  day,  and  must  turn  again  ; 
but  this  I  say  to  thee,  if  ever  the  world  goes  amiss 
with  thee,  as  it  yet  may  for  all  thy  valiancy,  or  for- 
sooth because  of  it,  come  hither  to  me,  or  if  I  be 
dead,  to  my  sons  and  my  grandsons,  and  abide  here 
as  merrily  as  thou  mayst.  And  spare  not  to  bring 
whomso  of  thine  thou  wilt,  as  maybe  this  goodly 
youngling  here,  laying  his  hand  on  Osberne's 
shoulder,  of  whom  some  of  thy  men  were  telling 
tales  to  some  of  mine  last  night.  And  now  I  bid 
farewell  to  thee  and  thine. 

So  Sir  Godrick  and  his  went  their  ways,  and 
the  new  fellows  led  them  by  the  shortest  road 
when  they  knew  whither  Sir  Godrick  had  will  to 
wend.  And  when  they  were  out  of  that  valley 
they  came  up  on   to   the   down   country,  which 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  '  223 

ran  along  the  edge  of  the  plain  like  a  wall ;  and 
thereby  they  went  due  south  for  three  days,  seeing 
but  few  folk  and  no  houses,  save  here  and  there 
the  cot  of  a  shepherd,  and  that  often  builded  on  a 
wain.  The  three  days  ended,  they  come  on  a 
dale  in  the  downs  where  a  little  river  cleft  them, 
running  about  south-west,  and  by  the  rede  of 
their  shepherd-fellows  they  turned  and  followed 
it  out  of  the  down  country,  and  were  presently  in 
a  land  of  mingled  tillage  and  pasture,  well  builded, 
but  more  with  single  homesteads  than  thorpes, 
though  these  were  not  lacking :  albeit  the  folk  of 
them  were  not  very  free  with  their  guesting,  but 
yet  for  money,  and  as  if  half  compelled,  they 
yielded  up  such  good  as  the  riders  would  have  of 
them.  The  next  day,  riding  the  samelike  country, 
they  saw  on  a  bent  a  fair  town  with  white  walls, 
and  many  goodly  gables  and  slim  spires  rising 
above  them.  But  when  they  drew  nigh  thereto, 
an  hour  before  sunset,  they  found  that  the  said 
walls  were  of  other  uses  than  to  be  looked  at,  to 
wit,  to  keep  them  out  of  their  night's  lodging  ;  for 
the  gates  were  shut,  and  there  were  spears  and  bas- 
nets glittering  over  the  battlements.  So  Sir  God- 
rick  rode  forward  toward  the  gate,  taking  Osberne 
and  a  trumpet  with  him,  and  there  bade  blow  a 
point  of  peace  and  crave  speech  of  the  captain  of 
the  guard.  Then  stood  up  a  tall  man  on  the 
gate,  armed  at  all  points  in  white  armour,  and  by 
him  were  two  or  three  men-at-arms  and  one  with 
a  cross-bow  ready  bent.  Cried  out  the  tall  man  : 
Go  ye,  trumpet  and  all,  and  let  us  see  the  last  of 


224  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

you  !  for  we  know  you,  outlaws  of  Longshaw. 
The  better  luck  for  you  if  we  come  not  to  your 
house  speedily.  Go  ye,  make  ready  for  us  !  Sir 
Godrick  burst  out  a-laughing  and  turned  his 
horse's  head ;  but  even  therewith  Osberne,  who 
was  exceeding  keen-sighted,  saw  the  cross-bowman 
raise  his  engine  ;  but  the  Red  Lad  had  his  dwarf- 
wrought  bow  bended  in  his  hand,  so  that  ere  the 
cross-bow  stock  came  to  the  man's  shoulder  he 
fell  clattering  down  with  a  shaft  through  his 
throat,  and  Osberne  rode  back  speedily  after  his 
lord  with  a  half  dozen  shafts  and  quarrels  whis- 
tling about  him,  but  none  touched  him,  and  great 
was  the  cry  and  the  yell  that  came  from  the  town 
gate. 

Now  when  Osberne  was  with  his  captain  again, 
that  one  spake  to  him  and  said :  Red  Lad,  Red 
Lad,  a  sharp  shaft  is  somewhat  of  a  fierce  answer 
to  a  rough  word.  Next  time  let  them  shoot  ere 
ye  shoot.  Nay,  lord,  said  Osberne,  had  I  waited 
this  time  thou  mightest  have  come  by  a  knock 
from  yonder  carle's  quarrel.  And  he  told  him 
what  he  had  seen.  Then  said  Sir  Godrick  :  Then 
am  I  wrong  and  thou  right,  and  I  thank  thee  for 
the  shaft.  I  might  have  known  that  thou  wouldst 
be  wise. 

So  they  fetched  a  compass  about  that  surly 
town,  and  rode  a  two  hours  ere  they  took  harbour 
in  a  little  wood,  and  held  good  watch  and  ward 
all  that  night ;  but  none  meddled  with  them. 

The  day  after,  by  the  rede  of  the  shepherd-folk, 
they  turned  up  into  the  hills  again,  for  they  had 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  225 

no  wish  to  raise  the  country  against  them  ;  and, 
to  say  sooth,  Sir  Godrick  was  somewhat  pensive 
that  he  found  enmity  so  far  off  his  own  land. 
So  they  rode  the  hills  for  five  days,  falling  in  with 
few  folk,  and  going  slowly  because  of  the  rough 
ways.  Thereafter  they  needed  victual,  and  had 
been  fain  of  better  lodging  might  they  get  it ; 
and  whereas  they  saw  a  fair  plain  well  builded 
and  tilled,  with  good  roads  through  the  same,  and 
knew  that  this  was  the  nighest  way  to  the  Wood 
Masterless,  they  turned  down  thither  at  all  ad- 
venture, and  found  no  evil  haps  there,  but  that 
the  folk  were  well  enough  pleased  to  make  their 
market  of  the  riders,  and  had  neither  fear  of  them 
nor  harboured  enmity  against  them.  Thus  then 
they  rode  for  two  days,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
second  day  entered  a  good  cheaping-town,  un- 
fenced  save  by  timber  pales.  There  they  abode 
a  whole  day,  yet  warily,  since,  though  there  were 
no  waged  men-at-arms  in  the  stead,  there  went 
about  many  stout  carles,  who  all  bore  long 
whittles,  and  looked  as  if  their  bills  and  bows 
had  not  been  far  to  seek.      But  no  strife  betid. 


15 


CHAPTER   XLI.     THEY  JOUST  WITH 
THE    KNIGHT   OF   THE    FISH. 

THENCE  they  rode  through  the  fields  and 
the  thorpes  two  days,  and  on  the  third 
day  in  the  morning  they  saw  a  fair  white 
castle  on  a  hill,  and  on  the  plain  underneath  a 
little  plump  of  men-at-arms  under  a  banner.  So 
the  Knight  arrayed  his  folk  and  went  forward 
warily,  although  that  folk  seemed  to  be  not  above 
a  score ;  for  he  knew  not  what  might  be  behind 
them  ;  and  they  were  hard  on  the  baily  of  the 
said  castle.  But  when  they  were  come  within 
half  a  bow-shot,  and  Osberne  could  see  the  banner 
that  it  bore  two  silver  Fish  addorsed  on  a  blue 
ground,  a  herald  pricked  forth  from  the  castle- 
folk,  and  when  he  drew  nigh  to  Sir  Godrick  and 
his  he  said :  If  I  knew  which  were  the  captain  of 
the  riders  I  would  give  him  the  greeting  of  my 
lord.  Sir  Raynold  Fisher  of  the  Castle  of  the  Fish. 
Here  then  is  the  captain,  said  Sir  Godrick ;  what 
would  Sir  Raynold  with  him ,?  This,  said  the 
herald,  that  whensoever  my  lord  seeth  the  riding 
of  any  weaponed  men  over  a  half  score  by  tale, 
they  must  tarry  and  joust  with  him,  two  of  theirs 
against  two  of  his,  and  must  run  with  sharp  spears 
of  war  till  one  side  is  overthrown  or  sorely  hurt. 
This  is  the  custom  of  the  Castle  of  the  Fish,  and 
hath  been  these  hundred  years.  Wherefore  now 
declare  thy  name,  Sir  Knight.  This  is  an  evil 
custom,  said  Sir  Godrick,  and  sorts  but  little  with 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  227 

mine  errand,  for  I  have  overmuch  bitter  earnest 
on  hand  to  play  at  battle.  But  since  thy  lord 
besetteth  the  way  I  must  needs  defend  myself 
against  him,  as  I  would  against  any  other  ruffler 
or  strong-thief  Go  tell  him  that  the  Knight  of 
the  Weary-Strife  will  come  presently  with  a  good 
man  of  his  and  deliver  him  of  his  jousts.  And 
Sir  Godrick  was  very  wroth. 

So  when  the  herald  was  gone  Sir  Godrick  turned 
to  Osberne  and  said:  How  sayest  thou,  Red  Lad, 
is  this  any  of  thy  business  ?  All  of  my  business, 
lord,  said  Osberne,  albeit  I  am  none  so  wroth  as 
thou  art.  Said  the  Knight,  looking  on  him 
kindly :  Thou  art  not  bound  to  run.  Red  Lad ; 
the  sharp  spear  is  an  unhappy  beast,  and  these 
men  are  doubtless  of  the  deftest.  Said  Osberne  : 
It  all  comes  in  the  day's  work,  lord ;  I  pray  thee 
turn  me  not  back.  Well,  do  we  on  our  basnets 
and  make  we  speedy  end  of  it,  quoth  Sir  Godrick  ; 
a  wise  man  must  ever  wait  upon  a  fool's  pleasure. 

So  the  two  of  them  went  forth,  and  found  the 
others  ready  over  against  them,  the  Knight  of  the 
Fish  against  Sir  Godrick,  and  a  very  tall,  stark 
man-at-arms  against  Osberne,  Short  is  the  story 
of  this  course  ;  for  Sir  Godrick  and  the  Fish  brake 
their  spears,  but  in  such  wise  that  the  Castle- 
knight  lost  his  stirrups,  and  it  went  but  a  little 
but  that  he  fell  to  field.  As  for  Osberne,  he 
played  so  warily  that  he  set  his  spear-point  in  the 
default  of  the  long  man's  defence  just  where  arm 
joins  shoulder,  and  the  spear  went  through  and 
through  him,  and  he  fell  to  the  earth  most  griev- 


22  8  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

ously  hurt.  Therewith  Osberne,  who  must  needs 
let  his  spear  fall,  took  a  short  axe  from  his  saddle- 
bow, for  he  would  not  draw  Board-cleaver,  and 
abode  what  was  to  do.  But  the  Knight  of  the 
Fish  cried  out  for  fresh  spears  for  him  and  Sir 
Godrick,  and  must  needs  run  again,  and  this  time 
the  knight's  spear  brake  on  Sir  Godrick,  whose 
shaft  held  that  he  drave  the  Knight  of  the  Fish 
clean  over  the  arson  of  his  saddle,  and  but  for  the 
goodness  of  his  shield  and  double  jazerant  the 
spear-head  had  been  in  his  breast  withal. 

Then  Sir  Godrick  cast  up  his  spear-head,  and 
lifted  the  visor  of  his  basnet  and  looked  around, 
and  saw  Osberne  sitting  still  upon  his  horse  and 
the  long  man  in  the  arms  of  his  fellows,  and  he 
cried  out :  Now  this  comes  of  fools  !  here  is 
our  journey  tarried,  and  one  man  or  two,  who  be 
not  of  our  foes,  slain  or  sore  hurt,  and  all  for 
nought.  Ho  ye,  give  my  man  his  spear.  And 
thou.  Red  Lad,  come  away  before  they  make  us 
do  more  hurt. 

But  therewith  the  Knight  of  the  Fish  sat  up  and 
had  come  to  his  wit,  and  laughed  and  said  :  Here 
is  a  surly  one  !  Why,  thou  mightst  complain 
more  if  ye  had  come  to  the  worse,  as  we  have. 
Come  now,  all  the  sort  of  you,  into  my  house, 
and  drink  a  cup  with  us  for  the  washing  away  of 
all  grudge  against  the  honourable  custom  of  the 
Fish.  Sir  Godrick  shook  his  head,  but  the  wrath 
ran  off  him  and  he  said  :  Sir  Knight,  thou  art 
debonair  in  thy  folly,  and  I  thank  thee  ;  this  thy 
bidding  might  we  have  taken  with   a  good  will 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  229 

hadst  thou  not  compelled  us  to  waste  our  time  in 
knocking  you  off  your  horses.  And  I  am  sorry 
we  have  hurt  thy  champion,  and  well  I  hope  that 
he  will  be  clean  healed.  Dost  thou  ?  said  he  of 
the  Fish  ;  now  I  will  tell  thee  that  if  he  be  healed, 
I  will  send  him  on  to  thee  to  be  thy  man,  that  is 
if  he  will  go.  For  well  I  know  thee  that  thou 
art  the  lord  of  Longshaw  :  and  as  to  my  cham- 
pion, he  will  suit  thee  to  a  turn,  for  he  is  well- 
nigh  as  surly  as  thou,  and  as  stiff  in  stour  as 
may  be.  Hereat  all  laughed,  and  they  bade  each 
other  farewell,  and  so  departed  with  good  will. 
So  they  rode  on,  and  nought  more  befell  that  day, 
and  they  guested  in  a  fair  thorpe  in  good  enough 
welcome. 


CHAPTER   XLII.     THEY   DELIVER 
THE   THORPE-DWELLERS   FROM 
THE     BLACK     SKIMMERS. 

NOW  they  rode  that  fair  well-peopled  land, 
and  nought  befell  them  to  tell  of  till  the 
fourth  day  thence,  and  then,  as  they 
were  riding  a  good  highway  with  a  somewhat 
steep  bank  or  little  hill  on  their  left  hands,  as 
they  turned  about  the  said  hill,  and  had  all  the 
plain  to  their  right  hands  before  them,  they  saw 
new  tidings,  and  it  was  just  about  high  noon. 
For  there  lay  in  their  road,  a  mile  and  a  half 
a-head,  a  thorpe  so  big  that  it  was  well-nigh  a 
little  town,  but  quite  unfenced,  though  many  of 
the  houses  were  goodly  and  great  as  for  such  a 
place.  But  now  all  was  going  ill  there,  for  they 
saw  smoke  and  flames  coming  forth  from  the 
windows  and  roofs  of  many  of  the  houses,  and  a 
confused  crying  and  shrieking  came  down  the 
wind  to  them,  and  Osberne  the  keen-eyed  deemed 
he  could  see  folk,  some  a-horseback,  fleeing  down 
the  highway  toward  them.  Then  Sir  Godrick 
cried  out :  Prick  on,  good  men  of  mine  !  this  is 
no  case  for  tarrying,  these  be  the  Black  Skimmers, 
and  if  we  make  not  the  more  haste  all  will  be 
under  fire  and  steel.  And  he  spurred  withal,  and 
Osberne  after  him.  But  now  as  they  drew  nigher 
there  was  no  nay-saying  but  that  folk  were  fleeing 
desperately  along  the  highway,  and  some  with 
their  hands  spread  out  to  the  newcomers  as  if 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  231 

praying  for  help,  young  men  and  old,  women 
and  children  ;  and  after  them  came  howling  and 
smiting  men-at-arms  in  wild  armour,  and  though 
they  were  not  in  all  ways  like  to  those  with  whom 
the  Dalesmen  had  fought  by  the  Sundering  Flood, 
yet  somehow  they  called  those  wretches  to  Os- 
berne's  remembrance,  and  he  knew  at  once  what 
had  befallen,  and  wrath  flamed  up  in  his  heart, 
for  it  well-nigh  seemed  to  him  as  if  Elfhild  must 
have  been  borne  off  again.  And  he  unknit  the 
peace-strings  from  about  Board-cleaver,  and  drew 
him  forth,  so  that  a  clear  humming  noise  went 
forth  into  the  sunlit  air,  and  spurred  on  so  hard 
that  he  outwent  every  man  there. 

But  when  the  Skimmers  saw  those  riders  coming 
on,  they  stayed  the  chase,  and  some  few  tarried 
while  they  shot  from  their  short-bows,  which  did 
but  little  harm,  and  so  they  hustled  back  into  the 
thorpe;  and  some  few,  the  first  of  them,  gat 
through  and  off  into  the  fields  ;  but  the  fleers 
drew  aside  to  the  right  hand  and  the  left,  calling 
blessings  on  the  good  Knight  and  his,  and,  when 
the  torrent  of  them  was  past,  followed  after 
timidly  toward  their  wasted  dwelling.  And  as 
Sir  Godrick  and  his  came  within  the  thorpe  they 
found  a  many  of  the  Skimmers  there  (two  hun- 
dreds of  their  carcasses  were  buried  afterwards), 
and  all  about  by  the  houses  lay  mangled  bodies  of 
the  country-folk,  some  few  with  weapons  in  their 
hands,  but  more  of  women  and  children.  But 
when  Godrick  and  his  had  slain  the  first  plump 
that  they  had  driven  in  from  the  road,  the  Knight 


232  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

cried  out :  Ye  thorpe-dwellers,  look  to  quench- 
ing the  fires,  while  we  slay  you  these  wolf-swine. 
Thereon  the  countrymen  began  to  run  together 
with  buckets  wherever  the  riders  were  before 
them.  And  there  was  a  pretty  stream  running 
down  the  midmost  of  the  street,  and  though  it 
were  dyed  with  blood  that  day,  it  was  no  worse 
for  the  quenching  of  the  flames.  Meanwhile 
Sir  Godrick  and  his  set  themselves  to  the  work, 
and  it  was  not  right  perilous,  for  the  thieves  were 
all  about  scattermeal  in  twos  and  threes,  and 
most  afoot  robbing  and  murdering  and  fire-rais- 
ing, so  that  they  made  but  such  defence,  when 
they  made  any,  as  the  rat  makes  to  the  terrier. 
Shortly  to  say  it,  in  half  an  hour  there  was  not 
one  of  them  left  alive,  save  some  few  who  gat  to 
their  horses  and  fled,  having  cast  away  their 
weapons  and  armour.  Then  the  riders  turned 
to  help  the  thorpe-dwellers  in  quenching  their 
fires,  and  in  some  two  hours  they  had  got  all 
under  wherein  was  any  hope,  and  the  rest  they 
must  let  burn  away. 

Then  would  Sir  Godrick  have  gone  his  ways, 
but  the  poor  folk  of  the  thorpe  prayed  him  so 
piteously  to  abide  till  the  morrow  that  he  had 
no  heart  to  nay-say  them.  So  they  brought  him 
and  his  what  things  they  might  get  together  after 
the  ravage,  and  begrudged  them  nought.  More- 
over in  the  morning  five  stout  fellows  of  the 
younger  sort  prayed  him  to  take  them  with  him 
to  serve  him  in  war,  since  they  knew  not  now 
how  to  live ;  so  he   yea-said  them,  nothing  loth, 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  233 

and  horsed  them  on  the  Skimmers'  way-beasts, 
which  were  good,  and  armed  them  with  such  of 
their  armour  as  was  not  too  filthy  for  decent  men 
to  use.  The  rest  of  the  horses  and  gear  they 
left  to  the  thorpe-abiders,  to  better  their  hard 
case  withal. 

So  they  departed,  and  that  same  day  they  came 
on  two  other  thorpes,  but  not  so  big  as  this,  which 
had  been  utterly  ravaged,  so  that  there  was 
neither  dog  nor  cat  therein,  save  in  one  house  two 
Httle  men-children  of  two  and  three  years  old, 
whom  they  brought  away  with  them  for  pity's 
sake. 

The  next  day  they  came  to  a  cheaping-town, 
walled  and  defensible,  whose  gates  were  shut  for 
fear  of  the  Skimmers.  But  when  Sir  Godrick  had 
spoken  to  the  captain  of  the  guard  at  the  gate, 
and  had  told  him  how  they  had  fared  of  late,  and 
of  the  slaughter  of  the  Skimmers,  they  opened  to 
them  joyfully,  and  made  them  kindly  welcome, 
and  there  they  rested  a  three  days,  of  which  rest 
their  way-beasts  had  great  need. 


CHAPTER  XLIII.  THEY  COME  TO 
THE  EDGE  OF  THE  WOOD  MASTER- 
LESS. 

NOW  when  they  went  on  thence,  they  came 
within  two  days  into  a  country  all  broken 
up  into  little  hills  and  ridges,  and  beset 
with  scraggy  shaws,  wherein  were  but  few  men 
and  fewer  dwellings,  and  the  men  either  hunters 
or  herders  of  neat,  well-nigh  wild,  and  this  lasted 
them  for  three  days  more ;  but  they  knew  hereof 
beforehand,  and  had  made  provision  therefor  at 
that  last  cheaping. 

But  at  the  end  of  the  three  days  they  came  to 
a  place  where  was  a  narrow  stretch  of  green  mead 
and  a  few  acres  in  the  wilderness,  and  a  little  river 
ran  through  all  that,  and  above  it  on  a  height, 
steep  and  well-nigh  sheer  on  all  sides  save  one,  was 
a  castle  high  and  strong,  and  as  they  drew  nigh 
thereto  Osberne  saw  a  banner  thrust  out  from  the 
highest  tower,  and  the  Knight  said  to  him  :  Red 
Lad,  whose  banner  is  that  ?  I  wot  not,  said  Os- 
berne. Canst  thou  see  the  blazon  of  it  ?  said  Sir 
Godrick.  Yea,  said  the  other  ;  it  hath  a  White 
Hart  collared  and  chained  with  gold,  and  em- 
parked  on  a  green  ground.  Sooth  is  that,  said 
Sir  Godrick.  Now  look  behind  thee  over  thy 
shoulder.  Even  so  did  Osberne,  and  saw  a  ban- 
ner borne  by  one  of  theirs,  and  the  selfsame 
blazon  on  it;  and  now  he  called  to  mind  that 
never  erst  had  he  seen  Sir  Godrick's  banner  dis- 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  235 

played.  And  he  laughed  and  wondered,  and  was 
some  little  deal  abashed,  and  he  said :  Lord,  is 
this  Longshaw  ?  Laughed  the  Knight  in  his 
turn,  and  said :  What,  thou  deemest  this  no  very 
lordly  castle  for  him  who  hath  to  withstand 
barons  and  portes  and  kings  ?  Nay,  lad,  look 
again,  and  tell  me  if  thou  seest  the  Long  Shaw  ; 
this  is  called  Woodneb,  and  therein  is  a  captain 
of  mine  who  hight  Edward  the  Brown,  and 
therein  shall  we  rest  awhile  ere  we  enter  the 
Wood  Masterless.  And  hence  onward  to  the 
Long  Shaw  is  a  twelve  days'  journey  if  all  go 
well. 

Now  when  Osberne  heard  that  he  was  the 
better  content,  for  in  good  sooth  that  desert-hold 
seemed  all  too  strait  to  keep  within  its  walls  the 
valiancy  of  Sir  Godrick  and  his  host. 

So  presently  the  gates  were  thrown  open,  and 
folk  gaily  clad  and  armed  came  forth  to  meet 
their  lord  and  his  new  men,  and  before  them 
went  Edward  the  Brown,  a  short  thick  man,  but 
very  sturdy  looking,  his  hair  cut  short  to  his 
head  ;  small  brown  eyes  had  he  and  short  nose, 
so  that  he  looked  somewhat  like  to  a  bear ;  but  a 
valiant  man  he  was,  and  a  trusty. 

There  they  had  good  entertainment,  as  men 
who  were  at  home  again,  and  they  abode  there 
seven  days  ere  they  departed,  and  had  good  dis- 
port of  hunting  and  hawking ;  and  there  was 
much  minstrelsy  and  tale-telling  in  the  hall 
a-nights  :  and  there  must  Osberne  tell  what  stories 
he  knew  of  the  war  of  East   Cheaping  and  the 


236  THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD 

matters  of  the  Dale,  both  the  tidings  of  his  own 
day  and  of  the  days  of  his  fathers  ;  and  therewith 
were  men  well  content,  for  a  good  tale-teller  he 
was. 

No  little  also  he  talked  with  Sir  Godrick,  and 
especially  on  one  matter ;  for  his  mind  dwelt 
much  on  those  same  Skimmers  whom  they  had 
overthrown,  and  he  kept  weighing  them  against 
those  evil  aliens  with  whom  he  had  fought  across 
the  Sundering  Flood,  and  who,  he  deemed  full 
surely,  had  borne  away  Elfhild.  And  on  a  day 
he  asked  Sir  Godrick  concerning  it,  and  if  these 
two  sorts  of  wretches  had  aught  to  do  with  it ; 
and  he  told  him  all  the  story  of  that  battle,  and 
what  like  his  foemen  were  in  body  and  array,  and 
of  their  horses  and  armour  and  weapons,  and  of 
their  shrieks  and  the  gibbering  of  their  Latin. 
Then  said  Sir  Godrick  :  I  will  tell  thee  what  me- 
seemeth  of  thy  foemen  of  that  day,  that  they  be 
of  the  kindred  of  these  Black  Skimmers,  though 
of  another  tribe,  so  that  men  call  them  the  Red 
Skimmers,  though  ye  shall  know  that  neither  the 
Red  nor  the  Black  call  themselves  Skimmers, 
which  is  but  a  name  of  terror  which  the  country- 
folk have  fixed  on  them  for  their  evil  deeds. 
Now  further,  although  the  Red  Skimmers  be  worse 
than  any  men  else,  they  are  not  so  bad  as  the 
Black.  That  is,  they  are  more  like  men  and  less 
like  wolves  standing  upright :  to  wit,  they  waste 
not  and  destroy  not  everything  forthright,  but 
keep  it  to  make  some  gain  thereof.  As  for 
example,  they  slay  not  and  rip  not  up  all  their 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  237 

captives  whatsoever  they  may  be,  but  keep  such 
as  they  may  deem  likely  to  sell  to  the  thrall- 
cheapers.  Now  as  to  thy  foes  being  of  this  ill 
folk,  I  deem  it  more  like  the  more  I  think 
thereof,  for  not  only  hast  thou  given  me  a  true 
picture  of  their  aspect,  but  it  is  mostly  the  other 
side  of  the  Sundering  Flood  which  they  haunt, 
though  whiles  we  meet  them  about  the  borders 
of  the  Wood  Masterless  nigh  unto  the  Flood. 
Withal  I  must  tell  thee,  that  though  I  speak  of 
both  the  Black  and  the  Red  Skimmers  as  of  nations 
or  tribes,  I  say  not  but  they  be  mingled  with 
runagates  of  divers  folks ;  for  whatever  is  worst 
or  evillest  or  cruellest  will  drift  toward  them. 
And  I  wot  not  but  that  these  men  be  worse  than 
they  of  the  blood,  having  in  them  more  malice 
and  grudging.  But  this  I  know  for  sure,  that 
these  are  they  who  set  them  to  work  on  such  a 
business,  and  spy  for  them,  and  sell  them  their 
plunder,  as  they  may  well  do  since  they  are  of 
aspect  like  other  folk  and  know  their  tongues. 
But  what  aileth  thee,  Red  Lad,  to  look  so  wan 
and  so  perturbed  of  countenance  ?  Hast  thou 
aught  on  thine  heart  which  thou  wouldst  tell  me? 
That  have  I,  said  Osberne :  and  so  as  shortly  as 
he  might  he  told  his  lord  the  whole  tale  of  his 
dealings  with  Elfhild,  and  how  she  had  vanished 
away  before  hand  might  touch  hand,  or  face  face ; 
and  how  he  deemed  that  she  had  been  borne  off 
by  these  same  Red  Skimmers.  And  when  he  had 
done  Sir  Godrick  said:  Poor  lad,  and  this  was  the 
cause  then  that  made  thee  so  eager  to  take  service 


238  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

along  with  me  !  Well,  thou  hast  done  wisely ; 
for  first,  thou  hast  got  thee  a  faithful  friend ;  and 
next,  if  thou  never  amendest  it  nor  settest  eyes 
on  the  maiden  again,  yet  surely  the  doing  of  deeds 
shall  ease  thy  sorrow,  till  at  last  it  shall  be  scarce 
a  sorrow  to  thee,  but  a  tale  of  the  past.  And, 
moreover,  in  coming  to  my  house  thou  shalt  have 
come  to  the  only  place  where  thou  mayst  per- 
chance happen  on  tidings  of  her,  since  with  these 
men  we  have  to  do,  and  also  at  whiles  with  those 
who  deal  with  them  by  way  of  chaffer.  And  if  we 
fall  in  with  any  of  the  Red  ones,  thou  shalt  make 
what  captives  thou  wilt,  and  for  the  saving  of 
their  lives  they  may  tell  thee  somewhat  to  fur- 
ther thy  search.  Hold  up  thine  head  then!  for 
surely  even  now  thou  art  doing  all  that  thou 
mayst  in  the  matter. 


CHAPTER   XLIV.      THEY    REACH 
LONGSHAW,  AND  OSBERNE  GETS 

HIM   A   NEW   NAME. 

HEREWITH    must    Osberne    be    content 
perforce,  and  in  sooth  his  heart  was  the 
lighter  that  he  had  told  his  trouble  to 
so  good  a  friend  as  was  Sir  Godrick. 

But  the  seven  days  over,  they  departed  on 
their  ways  to  the  house  of  Longshaw,  which  well 
they  knew ;  and  they  rode  first  for  two  days 
through  rough  land  pretty  much  as  it  had  been 
before  Woodneb,  and  they  saw  all  that  way  but 
three  little  houses  of  hunters  or  fowlers  ;  and  this, 
they  told  Osberne,  right  on  from  Woodneb  was 
the  beginning  of  the  Wood  Masterless.  There- 
after they  came  amongst  great  timber-trees  with 
wood  awns  betwixt,  and  but  little  underwood, 
and  a  goodly  piece  of  the  world  that  seemed 
unto  Osberne.  Three  days  it  held  so,  and  then 
came  broken  ground,  whiles  with  much  tangled 
thicket  and  whiles  treeless,  and  this  was  a  two 
days'  ride ;  and  many  were  the  wild  deer  therein, 
so  that  their  cheer  was  greatly  amended.  There- 
after was  the  wood  thinner  and  more  plain,  and 
there  was  a  clear  road  through  it ;  and  on  the 
first  day  of  their  riding  this  way  they  came  upon 
a  sort  of  folk  who  were  sitting  on  the  greensward 
eating  their  dinner.  They  were  fifteen  all  told, 
all  of  them  with  weapons,  but  Sir  Godrick  and 
his  came  upon  them  so  suddenly  that  they  had 


240  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

no  time  to  rise  and  flee,  so  sat  still  abiding  haps. 
They  had  a  good  few  of  sumpter-horses  with 
them,  and  it  was  soon  clear  to  see  that,  though 
they  were  weaponed,  they  were  not  men-at-arms, 
but  chapmen.  Sir  Godrick  entreated  them  cour- 
teously, and  asked  them  whence  and  whither,  and 
prayed  them  of  tidings.  They  said  they  were 
come  from  the  City  of  the  Sundering  Flood,  and 
had  ridden  the  Wood  instead  of  taking  ship  on 
the  river,  which  was  far  safer,  because  they  were 
bound  for  some  of  the  cheaping-towns  to  which 
Sir  Godrick  and  his  had  given  the  go-by.  They 
said  that  all  was  at  peace  in  the  City  and  the 
Frank  thereof,  and  there  was  little  of  strife  any- 
where anigh.  In  the  end  they  bade  the  Knight 
and  his  men  sit  with  them  and  share  their  feast 
under  the  green-wood  tree.  Sir  Godrick  yea- 
said  that  with  a  good  will,  and  they  were  pres- 
ently all  very  merry.  Sooth  to  say,  though  they 
made  as  if  they  knew  him  not,  and  never  named 
his  name,  they  knew  him  well  enough,  and  were 
a  little  afeard  of  him,  and  only  too  well  content 
if  he  named  himself  not,  for  they  were  of  the 
guilds  who  were  scarce  good  friends  with  Long- 
shaw ;  so  that  it  had  been  little  more  than  a  fair 
deed  of  war  if  he  had  made  them  unbuckle  and 
open.  When  dinner  was  over  and  they  were 
drinking  a  cup,  he  called  three  of  the  wisest  of 
them  apart  along  with  Osberne,  and  asked  them 
straightway  if  they  knew  of  any  fair  maid  who 
had  been  bought  of  late  by  any  chapman  from 
the  Red    Skimmers,  and    he    bade   Osberne  tell 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  24 1 

closely  what  like  was  Elfhild  :  even  so  he  did, 
sore  abashed  the  while.  But  when  he  was  done, 
the  chapmen  laid  their  heads  together,  and  asked 
one  or  two  others  of  their  company,  but  could 
give  no  tidings  of  any  such. 

So  therewith  they  parted,  and  Sir  Godrick  and 
his  rode  the  wood,  which  was  diverse  of  kind,  for 
six  days  more;  and  at  last,  on  a  bright  sunny 
afternoon,  when  after  riding  a  plain  not  much  be- 
timbered  they  had  made  their  way  through  a 
thick  and  close  wood  for  some  five  hours,  they 
came  out  of  the  said  wood  on  to  a  plain  of  green- 
sward cleft  by  a  fair  river,  which  winded  about 
the  foot  of  a  long  low  ridge  where  were  orchards 
and  gardens  a  many,  and  all  above  them  so  many 
buildings  and  towers  and  walls  of  stone,  that  to 
Osberne  it  seemed  as  if  they  had  before  them  a 
very  fair  town.  But  even  therewith  all  the  com- 
pany by  Sir  Godrick's  bidding  stayed,  and  drew 
up  in  a  line,  and  the  banner  of  the  Hart  impaled 
was  displayed ;  and  Sir  Godrick  spake  to  Os- 
berne and  said:  Lo,  Red  Lad,  my  house  of 
Longshaw,  and  this  is  the  Shaw  which  we  have 
come  through  :  now  how  likest  thou  the  house  ? 
Well,  and  exceeding  well,  said  Osberne ;  it  is  as 
a  town.  Yea,  said  Sir  Godrick  ;  and  therefore 
if  I  can  but  keep  it  well  victualled,  and  have 
with  me  a  host  big  enough  of  stout  men,  it  shall 
never  be  taken.  Now  Osberne  looked  again, 
and  he  saw  that  midmost  of  the  towers  and  walls 
was  a  very  great  hall  exceeding  fair,  with  lovely 
pinnacles  and  spires  and  windows  like  to  carven 

16 


242  THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD 

ivory,  and  beside  it  a  church  fairer  yet ;  and  then 
before  it  and  lower  down  the  hill  and  on  either 
side  were  huge  towers,  stern  and  stout,  all  with- 
out fretwork  or  ornament ;  and  there  were  many 
of  these,  and  one  to  help  the  other,  all  about  the 
hill,  and  down  by  the  river-side  a  baily  such  as 
never  was  a  stronger  or  a  wiser.  And  Sir  God- 
rick  said :  See  thou,  lad,  those  fair  and  beauteous 
buildings  in  the  midst,  they  were  the  work  of 
peace,  when  we  sat  well  beloved  on  our  own 
lands :  it  is  an  hundred  of  years  ago  since  they 
were  done.  Then  came  the  beginning  of  strife, 
and  needs  must  we  build  yonder  stark  and  grim 
towers  and  walls  in  little  leisure  by  the  labour  of 
many  hands.  Now  may  peace  come  again,  and 
give  us  time  to  cast  wreaths  and  garlands  of  fret- 
work round  the  sternness  of  the  war-walls,  or  let 
them  abide  and  crumble  in  their  due  time.  But 
little  avails  to  talk  of  peace  as  now.  Come  thou. 
Red  Lad,  and  join  the  host  of  war  that  dwelleth 
within  those  walls,  even  as  peaceful  craftsmen 
and  chapmen  dwell  in  a  good  town.  Lo  thou, 
they  fling  abroad  the  White  Hart  from  the  top- 
most tower  :    Blow  music  and  salute  it. 

Then  all  their  horns  blew  up,  and  they  set 
forward  toward  the  baily  of  the  castle.  And  it  is 
said  indeed  that  five  thousand  men-at-arms,  be- 
sides the  women  and  other  folk  that  waited  on 
them,  dwelt  for  the  most  part  in  the  house  of 
Longshaw. 

So  that  even  was  high  feast  holden  in  the  great 
hall  of  Longshaw,  where  by  Osberne's  deeming 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  243 

all  was  fairer  and  daintier  within  even  than  with- 
out. There  was  the  Red  Lad  shown  to  a  good 
place  and  all  honour  done  to  him,  and  his  lord 
looked  to  it  that  the  tales  of  his  valiancy  should 
be  known,  so  that  all  thought  well  of  him.  There 
was  but  little  doing  in  those  months  which  fol- 
lowed the  home-coming  of  Sir  Godrick,  as  he  was 
at  peace  with  his  neighbours  so  to  say.  But  he 
made  Osberne  captain  over  a  band  of  good  men, 
and  sent  him  on  divers  errands  wherein  was  some 
little  peril ;  and  in  all  of  these  he  did  wisely  and 
sped  well.  Amongst  others  he  went  with  ten 
tens  of  men  through  the  Wood  and  right  down  to 
a  certain  haven  on  the  Sundering  Flood,  with  the 
errand  of  warding  chapmen  and  others  who  were 
bringing  many  loads  of  wares  for  the  service  of 
the  house.  There  then  he  beheld  the  great  water 
for  the  first  time  since  he  had  left  the  Dale,  and 
wondered  at  its  hugeness  and  majesty ;  and  the 
sorrow  of  his  heart  stirred  within  him  when  he 
thought  how  far  they  two  had  come  from  the 
Bight  of  the  Cloven  Knoll,  he  and  the  Sundering 
Flood.  But  he  had  no  leisure  to  grieve  over- 
much, and  his  grief  was  but  as  the  pain  of  a  hurt 
which  a  man  feels  even  amidst  of  his  deep  sleep. 
Of  those  chapmen  and  others  he  asked  much  con- 
cerning Elfhild ;  and  they  could  tell  him  many 
tales  of  the  Red  Skimmers  and  their  misdeeds,  but 
nought  that  seemed  to  have  aught  to  do  with  his 
love.  On  the  way  back  with  the  train  of  goods, 
which  was  great  and  long-spun-out,  a  band  of  the 
waylayers  laid  an  ambushment  against  it,  hearing 


244  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

that  the  leader  of  its  guard  was  but  a  young  man 
new  to  war.  But  they  were  best  to  have  left  it 
alone,  for  Osberne  was  well  ware  of  them  ;  and  to 
be  short,  he  so  ambushed  the  ambushers  that  he 
had  them  in  the  trap,  and  slew  them  every  one : 
small  harm  it  was  of  the  death  of  them.  Now 
this  was  the  first  time  in  his  warfare  that  his  men 
fell  on  with  the  name  of  him  in  their  mouths,  and 
cried :  The  Red  Lad !  the  Red  Lad !  Terrible 
indeed  became  that  cry  in  no  very  long  time. 


CHAPTER  XLV.  THE  RED  LAD 
SCATTERS  THE  HOST  OF  THE 
BARONS. 

SO  wore  the  seasons  into  winter,  and  all  was 
tidingless  at  Longshaw.  Long  were  it  in- 
deed to  tell  the  whole  tale  of  the  warfare 
of  the  house  of  Longshaw,  even  for  those  years 
while  Osberne  abode  with  Sir  Godrick.  For  the 
Knight  was  not  only  a  fearless  heart  in  the  field 
and  of  all  deftness  in  the  handling  of  weapons, 
but  he  was  also  the  wisest  of  host-leaders  of  his 
day  and  his  land,  so  that  with  him  to  lead  them 
an  hundred  was  as  good  as  five  hundred,  take  one 
time  with  another.  But  of  all  this  warfare  must 
only  so  much  be  told  as  is  needful  to  understand 
the  story  of  Osberne  and  his  friend  of  the  west 
side  of  the  Sundering  Flood. 

But  first  it  must  be  said  that  Osberne  through- 
out that  autumn  and  winter  spared  not  to  question 
every  wight  whom  he  deemed  anywise  likely  to 
have  heard  aught  of  Elfhild;  and  heavy  and 
grievous  became  the  words  of  his  questioning, 
and  ever  his  heart  sickened  before  the  answer 
came.  But  of  one  man  he  gat  an  answer  that 
was  not  mere  nay-say,  to  wit,  that  months  ago, 
and  it  must  have  been  when  Osberne  first  met 
Sir  Godrick  at  East  Cheaping,  he  and  two  fellows 
were  journeying  on  the  other  side  of  the  Sunder- 
ing Flood,  but  much  higher  up,  and  they  came 
across  a  thrall-cheapener  who  said  that  he  had  a 


246  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

choice  piece  of  goods  if  he  could  but  get  a  price 
for  it,  and  thereon  showed  them  a  damsel  as  fair 
as  an  image,  and  she  was  like  to  what  Osberne 
had  told  of  her.  And  the  thrall-cheapener  said 
that  he  had  bought  her  of  the  Red  Skimmers,  who 
had  borne  her  off"  from  a  country-side  far  and  far 
away,  but  somewhere  anigh  the  Sundering  Flood. 
That  man  said  that  they  bought  her  not  of  the 
carle,  whereas  the  price  was  high  and  it  was  not 
much  in  their  way  of  business. 

Now  this  story  was  told  a  little  after  Yule,  and 
the  chapman  who  told  it  was  going  back  again 
presently  through  the  Wood  and  across  the 
Flood,  since  the  season  was  mild ;  and  Osberne 
asked  would  he  take  him  with  him,  in  case  he 
might  hit  upon  anything  in  those  parts.  The 
chapman  was  nought  loth,  as  may  be  deemed,  to 
have  such  a  doughty  champion  to  his  fellow  farer; 
so  Osberne  asked  leave  of  his  lord,  who  would 
not  gainsay  him  since  nought  was  stirring,  but 
bade  him  take  three  good  men  of  his  friends  with 
him.  So  they  went,  and  crossed  the  Flood  a  few 
days  before  Candlemass  ;  and  when  they  were  on 
the  other  side  they  fell  to  asking  questions  at  the 
houses  of  religion  and  of  the  chapmen  whom  they 
met  there.  Also  they  gat  them  into  castles  and 
great  houses  where  many  servants  are  wont  to  be, 
and  not  a  few  bought  at  a  price ;  and  there  they 
used  both  tongue  and  eyes.  Thus  fared  they  a 
twenty  days'  journey  up  the  water,  keeping  ever 
somewhat  nigh ;  but  woe  worth,  if  they  gat  them 
no   great  scathe,   though   they   had   some  rough 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  247 

passages  forsooth,  which  time  sufFereth  us  not  to 
.  tell   of,  yet   also  they  gat  no  good,  and  were  no 
nearer  to  hearing  a  true  word  of  Elfhild  than  ever. 

So  back  comes  Osberne,  cast  down  and  some- 
what moody  ;  but  time  wears  on,  and  he  is  busy 
over  his  lord's  errands  at  this  place  and  that  until 
a  year  is  sped ;  and  now  come  tidings  that  drive 
all  other  things  out  of  his  head  for  a  while.  It 
was  a  little  after  Marymass  that  he  comes  home 
to  Longshaw,  whence  some  business  had  taken 
him  a  three  days'  journey  through  the  Wood,  and 
straightway  he  hears  tell  how  war,  and  big  war, 
has  arisen.  For  the  Barons  who  lay  mostly  to 
the  east  and  north  of  Longshaw,  though  some 
help  they  had  from  the  west  and  the  south,  both 
hated  Sir  Godrick  sorely  because  he  withheld 
them  from  the  worst  deeds  of  tyranny,  and  also, 
though  they  owed  not  service  to  the  King  of  the 
great  City  or  the  Porte  thereof,  yet  were  they 
somewhat  under  their  power.  These  then  had 
met  together  and  made  a  great  league,  and  had 
sworn  the  undoing  of  Sir  Godrick  and  the  house 
of  Longshaw  for  ever.  And  all  the  world  knew 
that  they  were  but  the  catspaw  of  the  King  of  the 
City  and  the  tyrannous  Porte,  though  neither  of 
these  would  let  themselves  be  seen  therein. 

Now  Godrick  sends  for  Osberne,  and  talks 
long  with  him,  and  the  end  of  that  talk  is  that  he 
sends  him  on  the  errand  to  go  seek  the  hosting 
of  them  of  the  Barons'  League  who  dwelt  furthest 
north,  and  to  fall  on  them  as  fast  and  as  fierce  as 
he  may,  so  as  to  break  up  the  said  hosting,  so 


248  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

that  he  may  not  have  these  men  on  his  flank 
when  he  marches  against  the  main  host,  which  he 
will  do  with  all  speed.  All  of  which  he  deems 
may  be  done,  because  he  wotteth  that  the  Barons 
deem  of  him  that  he  will  abide  their  coming  to 
Longshaw,  and  that  when  they  have  shut  him  up 
there  they  shall  then  have  the  open  help  of  all 
the  strength  of  the  King  and  the  Porte. 

Now  Osberne  heard  and  understood  all,  and 
the  men  are  all  ready  for  him,  a  thousand  and 
three  hundred  by  tale ;  so  he  makes  no  delay, 
and  leads  them  by  ways  unkenned  so  diligently 
that  he  breaks  forth  on  them  before  they  be 
duly  ordered,  though  they  be  all  out  in  the  fields 
drawing  together.  Shortly  to  say  it,  his  thirteen 
hundred  men  are  more  by  a  great  deal  than  their 
six  thousand,  and  they  scatter  them  to  the  winds 
so  that  they  can  never  come  together  again,  and 
all  their  munitions  of  war  and  matters  for  feeding 
and  wending  are  destroyed.  Then  turns  the  Red 
Lad  and  wendeth,  not  back  again  to  Longshaw, 
but  thither  whereas  he  wots  the  great  battle  shall 
be,  and  on  the  very  eve  thereof  he  rideth  into  Sir 
Godrick's  camp ;  and  such  an  outcry  of  joy  there 
was  when  he  bears  in  the  taken  banners  and  such 
spoil  as  was  not  over-heavy  to  ride  with,  as  that 
no  man  there  was  of  Sir  Godrick's  but  he  knew 
full  surely  that  the  victory  would  be  theirs  on  the 
morrow.  As  for  Osberne,  all  men  praised  him, 
and  the  good  Knight  embraced  him  before  all  the 
host  and  the  leaders  thereof,  and  said  :  Here  is 
one  shall  lead  you  when  I  am  slain.     Even  so  it 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  249 

went.  Of  a  sooth  stiff  was  the  stour,  for  the 
Barons  and  theirs  were  hardy  men  and  of  great 
prowess,  and  were  three  to  Sir  Godrick's  one. 
But  they  knew  that  they  should  not  have  the 
help  they  looked  for,  for  they  had  seen,  ere 
the  battle  was  joined,  those  taken  banners,  and  the 
others  had  mocked  them  and  bade  them  come 
across  to  serve  under  such  and  such  a  banner. 
So  it  was  not  long  ere  a  many  of  them  fell  a- 
thinking  :  What  do  we  to  perish  here,  when  at  our 
backs  are  those  so  mighty  castles  and  strengths  of 
ours  ?  Let  us  draw  away  little  by  little  and  get 
behind  our  walls,  and  there  gather  force  again. 
But  soon  they  found  that  they  would  have  no 
such  leave  to  depart  but  as  broken  men  fleeing 
at  all  adventure,  for  their  foemen  had  entered 
too  far  into  them,  and  had  cleft  their  array  in 
many  places.  And  their  banners  were  thrown 
down  and  their  captains  unheeded,  and  at  last 
there  was  no  face  of  them  against  the  foe  ;  nought 
but  heaps  of  huddled  men,  who  knew  not  where 
to  turn  or  whom  to  smite  at:  and  the  overthrow 
might  be  no  greater,  for  at  noon-tide  there  was 
no  host  left  that  at  matins  had  been  as  great  and 
goodly  an  host  as  ever  was  seen  in  those  parts. 

And  now  was  the  purpose  of  the  King  and  the 
Porte  broken,  and  they  must  sit  still  and  do 
nothing ;  nay,  have  got  to  be  well  content  if 
the  Small  Crafts  take  not  the  occasion  to  rise 
against  them.  But  to  say  sooth  these  knew 
their  own  opportunity  and  took  it,  as  ye  shall 
find  hereafter. 


250  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

That  great  battle  was  foughten  on  the  first  of 
May,  and  ere  a  half  month  was  fully  worn  the 
Barons'  League  sent  a  herald  to  Longshaw  pray- 
ing for  peace ;  but  Sir  Godrick  straightway  sent 
back  answer  that  he  would  grant  the  Barons  peace 
when  they  had  delivered  up  all  their  strengths 
into  his  hands,  then  and  not  before.  Such  answer 
the  herald  bore  back.  But  their  proud  stomachs 
had  not  yet  come  down  so  far,  and  they  but  sent 
back  their  defiance  renewed;  for  they  thought 
that,  though  they  were  not  strong  enough  to 
meet  Longshaw  in  the  field,  yet  they  might  hold 
their  strengths  in  despite  of  it,  and  so  dally  out 
the  time  until  the  King  and  the  Porte  were  strong 
enough  to  come  to  their  help.  Now  was  this 
put  to  the  test ;  for  straightway,  when  Sir  God- 
rick had  their  answer,  he  rose  up  and  led  a  host 
against  the  castle  of  the  greatest  of  those  Barons, 
and  took  it  in  ten  days,  after  much  loss  of  his 
men.  Then  went  he  against  the  next  greatest, 
and  took  that  with  less  pain.  And  meanwhile 
the  Red  Lad  to  the  north,  and  another  captain  to 
the  south,  had  the  business  of  riding  here  and 
there  and  making  nought  of  any  gathering  if  they 
heard  of  the  beginnings  thereof.  And  this  they 
did,  with  much  labour  and  no  little  battle ;  but 
thoroughly  they  did  it,  so  as  Sir  Godrick  might 
carry  on  his  sieges  of  the  strongholds  without  let 
or  hindrance,  so  that  before  the  winter  came  he 
had  all  he  wanted,  and  most  of  the  Barons  captive 
at  Longshaw.  As  to  the  strongholds,  into  some 
he  put  his  own  men,  and  some  he  threw  down. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  25 1 

So  noble  Yule  they  kept  at  Longshaw  that  year, 
with  all  those  great  men  feasting  at  the  table. 
But  a  day  or  two  after  Yule  came  a  herald  riding 
through  the  snow,  for  that  season  was  hard,  on 
behalf  of  the  Barons*  League,  what  was  left  of  it, 
craving  for  peace,  and  Sir  Godrick  said  that  peace 
they  might  have  if  they  would,  or  not  as  they 
would,  but  the  terms  were  that  he  should  keep 
what  he  had  got,  but  ransom  his  captives  duly  ;  or 
else  they  might  dwell  at  Longshaw  all  their  lives 
long  if  they  would.  Now  there  was  no  help  for 
it  but  such  terms  they  must  take,  and  be  glad 
that  it  was  no  worse. 


CHAPTER  XLVI.  OSBERNE  ENTERS 
THE  CITY  OF  THE  SUNDERING 
FLOOD. 

SO  peace  was  made,  and  all  was  quiet  till  after 
Marymass.  Osberne  had  somewhat  of  a 
mind  to  get  him  into  the  Wood,  and  seek 
through  the  strengths  and  other  houses  that  were 
scattered  about  in  the  Wood  itself,  and  the  edge 
thereof  toward  the  Sundering  Flood  ;  but  partly 
he  was  sick  at  heart  of  for  ever  asking  questions 
to  which  came  evermore  but  one  answer,  and 
partly  there  was  very  much  work  come  to  his 
hand  that  he  might  scarce  turn  over  to  another, 
of  visiting  the  captured  strongholds,  and  seeing  to 
the  men-at-arms  therein  and  the  captains,  and 
suchlike  matters  ;  for  now  he  was  closer  to  the 
rede  and  mind  of  Sir  Godrick  than  any  other. 

So,  as  aforesaid,  the  time  wore  till  Marymass 
was  over,  and  then  came  fresh  tidings,  to  wit,  that 
the  men  of  the  Small  Crafts  and  the  lesser  com- 
mons were  risen  against  the  Porte  and  the  King, 
and  had  gotten  to  them  the  North  Gate  of  the 
City,  and  were  holding  it  against  their  foemen, 
together  with  that  quarter  of  the  City  which  lay 
round  about  it.  The  news  hereof  was  sure,  for 
it  was  brought  to  Longshaw  one  night  by  three 
of  the  weavers  who  had  ridden  on  the  spur  to  tell 
it  to  Sir  Godrick,  and  these  three  men  he  knew 
well,  and  that  they  were  trusty.  Now  so  it  was 
both  that  it  had  been  not  easy  at  any  time  that 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  253 

war  should  find  Longshaw  not  duly  prepared,  and 
also  that  at  this  time  there  was  no  tidings  which 
Sir  Godrick  looked  for  more  than  this.  Speedy 
therefore  was  his  rede.  For  he  gave  into  Os- 
berne's  hand  fifteen  hundreds  of  his  best  men,  and 
bade  him  ride  to  the  City  and  the  North  Gate  and 
see  what  the  fields  without  the  City  looked  like, 
and  the  very  next  morning  the  Red  Lad  and  his 
rode  out  of  Longshaw,  having  with  them  two  of 
the  said  weaver-carles,  but  the  third  abode  with 
Sir  Godrick. 

Now  so  good  were  the  Red  Lad's  way-leaders 
and  knew  all  the  passages  and  roads  so  inly,  and 
so  diligent  was  the  Red  Lad  himself  and  his  men 
so  good  and  trusty,  that  by  the  second  day  about 
sunset  he  was  but  five  miles  from  the  North  Gate, 
and  he  and  his  covered  by  some  scattering  wood- 
land that  lay  thereabout. 

Straightway  Osberne  sends  a  half  score  of  spies 
to  get  them  to  the  City  and  see  what  was  toward, 
and  come  back,  they  that  were  not  slain,  and 
tell  him  thereof  Straightway  they  went,  and  had 
such  hap  that  all  they  came  back  unscathed,  and 
this  was  their  story :  That  the  men  of  the  Small 
Crafts  were  not  by  seeming  hard  pressed,  for  still 
their  banners  hung  out  from  the  North  Gate  and 
the  wall  and  towers  thereabout ;  but  that  both 
within  the  City  had  been  bitter  battle  against  them 
all  daylong,  and  also  an  host  of  men  of  their  foes 
had  come  out  from  the  East  Gate,  and  were  now 
lying  round  the  North  Gate  in  no  very  good 
order,  because  they  looked  for  no  peril  save  from 


254  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

them  within  the  North  Gate,  and  deemed  that  as 
for  them  they  had  enough  on  their  hands  to  keep 
them  within  their  walls,  and  least  of  all  things  did 
they  look  for  any  on  fall  from  without. 

Thereon  the  Red  Lad  called  to  him  his  cap- 
tains and  host-leaders  and  asked  them  of  rede,  and 
to  be  short  therewith.  Some  said  one  thing,  some 
another,  as  to  send  back  news  hereof  to  Sir  God- 
rick,  or  to  array  them  in  the  best  wise  to  fall  on 
these  men  on  the  morrow ;  nay,  some  were  for 
hanging  about  till  they  should  have  news  of  Sir 
Godrick. 

But  when  they  were  done,  spake  the  Red  Lad : 
Sirs,  many  of  these  things  are  good  to  be  done, 
and  some  not ;  for  sure  am  I  that  we  be  not  sent 
hither  to  do  nothing.  But  now  if  ye  will,  hearken 
my  rede :  it  is  now  well-nigh  dark,  and  in  two 
hours  or  somewhat  more  it  will  be  pit-mirk,  and 
these  men  outside  the  walls  will  be  going  to  their 
rest  with  no  watch  and  ward  set  outward  toward 
the  upland.  Wherefore  I  say,  let  us  leave  our 
horses  here  and  do  off  so  much  of  our  armour  as 
we  may  go  afoot  lightly  ;  for  if  we  win  we  shall 
soon  get  other  horses  and  gear,  and  if  we  lose  we 
shall  need  them  not.  But  meseemeth  if  we  do 
deftly  and  swiftly,  all  these  men  we  shall  have  at 
our  will. 

Now  they  all  saw  that  it  would  do ;  so  there 
was  no  more  said,  but  they  fell  to  arraying  their 
men  on  foot,  and  in  an  hour  they  were  on  the 
way ;  and  going  wisely  and  with  little  noise,  in 
two   hours   thence  they  were  amidst  the  foe  and 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  255 

doing  their  will  upon  them  ;  and  when  they  were 
well  entered  in  amongst  them  and  had  slain  many, 
they  fell  to  the  blowing  of  horns  and  crying  out : 
The  Red  Lad  !  the  Red  Lad  !  Longshaw  for  the 
Small  Crafts!  Then  both  there  was  no  aid  to 
come  to  the  men  of  the  Porte,  whereas  they  were 
far  away  from  the  East  Gate,  and  also  they  of  the 
North  Gate  heard  the  horns  and  the  cries,  and 
guessed  what  was  toward  ;  so  they  issued  out  with 
torches  and  cressets,  and  fell  upon  the  foe  crying 
their  cries,  and  so  it  befell  that  none  of  that  host 
of  the  Porte  escaped  save  they  who  might  make  the 
night  their  cloak.  Then  was  the  gate  thrown  open, 
and  the  Red  Lad  and  his  entered,  and  ye  may 
think  whether  the  townsmen  were  joyous  and  made 
much  of  them.  But  when  the  tale  of  his  men 
was  told,  Osberne  found  that  but  three  of  his  were 
missing ;  and  so  soon  as  it  was  light  he  sent  back 
a  band  of  his  men  to  bring  on  their  horses  and 
armour.  Thuswise  first  came  Osberne  into  the 
City  of  the  Sundering  Flood. 


CHAPTER   XLVII.      THE    BATTLE    IN 
THE  SQUARE. 

ON  the  morrow  morn  the  leaders  of  the 
town  met  Osberne  and  his  captains  in 
council,  and  their  rede  was  that  they 
should  do  warily  and  not  throw  the  helve  after 
the  hatchet.  This  they  deemed  best,  that  they 
should  now,  while  they  might,  make  strong  with 
mound  and  wall  their  quarter  of  the  town,  since, 
until  Sir  Godrick  was  come  to  them,  they  might 
even  now  look  to  it  to  have  much  might  against 
them.  This  rede  the  Red  Lad  nowise  gainsaid, 
knowing  well  how  valiant  and  stout  these  men 
would  be  behind  walls  ;  but  he  said :  Yet,  my 
masters,  the  more  leisure  ye  may  have  for  this 
spade  and  mattock  work  the  better  it  shall  be  for 
you  and  the  work.  Wherefore  my  rede  is  that 
some  of  your  chosen  men  go  with  the  best  of 
mine,  and  that  we  issue  out  of  our  quarter  and 
fall  upon  the  others,  and  make  a  good  space  clear 
of  foes  of  the  streets  and  carfaxes  that  march 
unto  your  quarter,  which  forsooth  shall  serve 
you  as  an  outwork  to  your  castle  until  Sir  God- 
rick comes  with  a  great  host  and  fills  up  all  that 
and  more.  And,  sooth  to  say,  now  at  once  is  the 
best  time  to  do  this,  while  the  foe  is  all  astonied 
at  what  befell  last  night. 

That  seemed  good  to  one  and  all ;  so  when 
they  had  eaten  and  were  duly  arrayed  they  issued 
forth  into  the  streets,  and  at  first  indeed  wended 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  257 

those  that  were  truly  of  their  quarter,  only  on  the 
day  before  they  deemed  them  not  big  enough  to 
hold  all  that ;  but  now  it  was  their  mind  to  bring 
it  within  their  defences.  So  the  Red  Lad  and 
his  rode  on  warily,  taking  heed  that  they  should 
not  be  cut  off  by  any  at  their  backs.  So  at  last 
they  came  unto  a  great  carfax  with  a  wide  square 
round  about  it.  There  they  drew  up  their  folk 
in  a  long  line  with  a  wide  face  to  the  foe,  well 
furnished  of  bows  and  other  shot-weapons  ;  for 
the  townsmen  were  archers  exceeding  good. 

There  was  nought  in  the  square  or  on  the 
carfax  at  first  but  themselves  ;  but  after  a  little 
there  entered  by  the  east  way  and  the  west  a  rout 
of  archers,  and  fell  to  shooting  at  Osberne's,  and 
they  back  again.  The  archers  of  the  Porte  did 
not  dare  to  show  much  face  to  the  Red  Lad,  but 
were  gathered  together  in  plumps  at  each  incom- 
ing into  the  square.  Said  the  Red  Lad  to  him- 
self: Let  us  make  an  end  of  this  folly.  And  he 
bade  his  men  leave  shooting,  and  then  gave  the 
word,  and  they  rode  at  the  carles  right  and  left 
with  spear  and  sword.  Straightway  the  archers 
ran  all  they  might,  yet  not  so  fast  but  that  the 
Red  Lad  and  his  captains  got  amidst  them  ere 
they  could  take  to  the  narrow  byways,  so  that  a 
many  were  slain.  And  this  was  a  matter  of  but 
ten  minutes.  But  when  the  horsemen  had  been 
along  with  the  bowmen  a  little  while,  they  heard 
great  horns  blowing  from  the  south,  and  there- 
with great  noise  of  horse,  and  presently  a  great 
rout  of  men-at-arms  in  the  best  of  armour  began 

17 


258  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

to  come  in  by  the  southern  road,  and  the  Red 
Lad's  men  were  all  agog  to  fall  on  them  straight- 
way, but  he  made  them  forbear  till  they  had  filled 
the  square  over-full.  They  were  not  long  about 
it,  but  meanwhile  the  townsmen  shot  all  they 
might ;  and  so  nigh  they  were  that,  despite  their 
armour,  not  a  few  fell,  both  of  men  and  horses  ; 
yet  did  they  fall  not  on  till  the  square  was  full  of 
them,  so  that  it  looked  far  bigger  than  might 
have  been  deemed.  Then  they  thrust  on,  but  so 
close  that  they  might  scarce  handle  their  arms, 
and  the  Red  Lad  and  his  cried  their  cry.  The 
Red  Lad  for  Longshaw !  and  rushed  forward, 
smiting  and  thrusting,  till  the  front  of  the  foe- 
men  began  to  try  to  turn  about  if  they  might ; 
but  scarce  they  could,  though  if  they  might  not 
flee  they  might  not  fall.  And  they  behind  strove 
to  get  forward  to  smite,  for  they  said  they  were 
many  more  than  the  others  ;  but  they  could  get 
but  little  done,  for  their  forward  men  who  had 
been  overthrown  were  hindering  them.  Now 
also  the  carle-archers  of  the  town  laid  aside  their 
bows  and  entered  among  them  with  short  swords 
and  axes,  and  hewed  and  slew  and  took  none  to 
mercy,  and  it  seemed  hard  to  know  how  that 
would  end,  save  by  all  those  men-at-arms  falling 
in  the  place. 

Now,  as  ye  may  deem,  Osberne  was  more 
thrust  forward  than  any  other,  and  somewhat  of 
a  space  he  had  cleared  before  him,  and  his  yellow 
hair  came  down  from  under  his  basnet,  and  his 
long  red  surcoat  streamed  all  rent  and  tattered  in 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  259 

the  wind,  and  Board-cleaver  was  bare  and  bloody 
in  his  fist,  and  his  face  was  stern  but  not  exceed- 
ing fierce  ;  for  he  would  the  slaughter  of  the  day- 
were  over.  Now  he  hove  up  Board-cleaver,  and 
before  him  was  a  tall  man  in  gilded  armour  and  a 
gay  yellow  surcoat  of  silk,  and  his  armour  was 
little  rent  and  his  sword  unscathed  in  his  hand  ;  a 
stark  man  he  was  of  aspect,  but  terror  was  come 
into  his  soul  because  of  the  slaughter  and  the 
press  and  that  there  was  no  escape  therefrom.  So 
when  he  saw  Board-cleaver  arising  he  cried  out : 
O  Red  Lad,  Red  Lad,  O  thou  seeker,  let  me 
live,  that  I  may  tell  thee  what  thou  wouldst  give 
many  lives  to  know  !  Then  Osberne  restrained 
Board-cleaver  and  let  him  fall  to  his  wrist,  and 
stretched  out  his  hand  to  the  gilded  man.  But 
even  therewith  his  hand  was  thrust  aside,  for 
many  a  man  there  was  mad  and  drunk  with  the 
slaying  :  and  a  short,  dark,  long-armed  man  of 
the  weavers'  craft,  armed  with  nought  else  save  a 
heavy  sword  cutting  on  the  inner  edge,  drew  him 
on  to  the  gilded  man's  horse,  and  brought  his 
short  sword  back-handed  across  his  face  and  neck, 
and  fell  with  him  as  he  fell,  and  mangled  him 
that  he  was  more  than  dead,  and  then  got  up 
again  amidst  the  horses  and  fell  to  work  again. 
Then  Osberne,  when  he  saw  the  tale  was  done, 
groaned  aloud ;  but  none  heeded  him,  for  it  was 
to  them  but  as  a  cry  of  the  wounded.  Then  he 
uphove  Board-cleaver  again  and  cried  out  shrilly  : 
The  Red  Lad,  the  Red  Lad  for  Longshaw  and 
the    Crafts !     On,    on    at   them  !    And   that   all 


l6o  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

heard,  both  his  and  theirs.  And  now  they  of 
the  foemen  began  to  cease  pressing  forward,  and 
many  fled  without  a  stroke  stricken,  till  there 
was  somewhat  more  room  for  the  rest  to  flee,  but 
httle  leave,  for  even  so  was  more  room  for  the 
pursuers,  and  soon  was  the  square  clear  of  all 
but  dead  and  sore  hurt ;  and  the  chase  endured 
all  up  and  along  the  carfax,  and  mad-fierce  it 
was,  and  that  mostly  at  the  hands  of  the  towns- 
men, who  deemed  that  they  had  much  to  pay 
back  to  the  men  of  the  King  and  the  Porte. 

Now  after  this  Osberne  and  his  drew  not  back 
from  the  carfax,  but  by  the  rede  of  him  the  towns- 
men made  trenches  and  walls  to  strengthen  them 
right  up  to  the  said  carfax.  And  for  three  days  the 
King's  men  durst  not  fall  upon  them  there,  save 
that  they  tried  a  little  arrow-shot  from  afar,  but 
did  not  much  hurt  thereby. 

But  the  next  day  thereafter  comes  Sir  Godrick 
with  his  host  to  the  help  of  the  townsmen,  and  rides 
into  the  North  Gate  amidst  the  joy  of  all  men. 
And  the  next  day  they  push  on  to  their  outworks 
and  fall  on.  Three  days  of  battle  they  have 
thereafter,  wherein  Sir  Godrick  will  not  sufi^er  the 
Red  Lad  to  deal :  For,  saith  he,  it  is  thou  that 
hath  won,  and  now  we  have  little  to  do,  but  as  it 
were  the  woodwright's  and  the  carpenter's  work. 
Wherefore  now  I  bid  thee  to  rest.  Laughed 
Osberne,  and  tarried  in  the  North  quarter,  while 
Sir  Godrick  and  his  with  all  deliberation  set 
to  work  on  clearing  all  the  quarters  on  that 
side    of   the    river ;     and    they   were   four   days 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  261 

about  the  business,  albeit  the  men  of  the  Porte 
and  the  King  were  scarce  so  stubborn  and  en- 
during as  they  had  looked  to  find  them.  But 
Osberne  did  all  he  might  to  keep  good  order  and 
good  heart  amongst  his  men,  and  they  made  their 
strongholds  strong  to  the  letter,  and  looked  to  it 
that  all  their  forward  places  should  be  ready  for 
battle  at  a  moment's  notice. 


CHAPTER   XLVIII.      SIR    GODRICK    IS 
CHOSEN    BURGREVE  OF  THE   CITY. 

BUT  on  the  third  of  those  four  days  came  a 
man  to  Osberne  early  in  the  morning,  and 
told  him  that  the  foe  were  holding  the 
East  Gate  somewhat  heedlessly,  and  that  they  had 
lost  many  men  in  those  last  battles.  Wherefore 
Osberne  looked  to  it,  and  gat  three  hundreds  of 
picked  men,  and  passing  through  byways  of  streets 
came  to  the  townward  end  of  the  said  gate  but  a 
little  after  sunrise,  and  without  more  ado  made  at 
the  doors  of  the  gate,  which  were  but  half  shut. 
There  they  drave  the  few  guards  in,  and  followed 
on  them  pell-mell ;  and  to  make  a  long  story 
short,  they  presently  won  the  gate  utterly  with  but 
little  loss,  and  all  those  inside,  who  were  scarce 
three  hundreds,  slain  or  taken.  Now  you  may 
judge  if  this  were  good  news  for  Sir  Godrick, 
when  with  mickle  labour  and  not  a  little  loss  he 
had  won  the  town  on  the  east  side  of  the  Sunder- 
ing Flood. 

But  now,  when  they  had  won  so  much,  they 
had  yet  to  carry  the  war  into  the  west  side  of  the 
Flood,  where  was  forsooth  the  chief  strength  of 
the  King  and  the  Porte.  For  there  was  the 
King's  palace  and  the  great  guildhall,  both  whereof 
were  buildings  defensible,  and  moreover  they  had 
full  command  of  all  the  haven  and  the  ships 
therein,  for  they  had  all  the  quays  and  landing- 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  263 

places  and  warehouses  ;  so  that  both  the  sea  and 
the  river  was  under  their  wielding.  Two  bridges, 
made  of  great  barges  linked  together,  crossed  the 
Flood,  one  near  to  the  haven,  the  other  a  good 
way  higher  up  ;  nor  had  the  King  and  his  thought 
it  good  to  break  either  of  them  down.  Both  had 
fair  and  great  castles  to  guard  them  at  either 
side. 

So  now  when  Sir  Godrick  and  the  Council  of 
the  Lesser  Crafts  had  met  in  divers  motes  with 
Osberne  and  other  captains  of  the  Longshaw 
host,  it  yet  seemed  a  great  matter  that  they  had 
to  deal  with ;  and  that  if  they  had  won  many  vic- 
tories, they  had  yet  to  win  the  great  one.  And 
all  men  saw  what  would  have  befallen  if  the  Barons' 
League  had  not  been  so  utterly  broken  up  the 
year  before.  But  now  the  greatest  gain  which  Sir 
Godrick  and  the  Lesser  Crafts  had  was,  that  they 
by  no  means  lacked  men,  and  those  of  the  best ; 
and  though  they  were  shut  out  from  chaffer 
with  the  merchants  of  the  City,  yet  whereas  the 
whole  country-side  was  open  to  them  because  of 
the  riders  of  Longshaw,  they  were  not  like  to  fall 
short  of  victuals.  Though  true  it  is  that  the 
King's  men  set  swift  keels  on  the  Sundering 
Flood  stuffed  of  men-at-arms,  and  these  would 
land  on  the  eastern  bank  so  far  as  a  twenty  or 
thirty  miles  up,  and  plunder  and  ravage  the  coun- 
try-folk, or  whiles  would  come  upon  trains  of 
victuals  and  suchlike  wending  towards  the  eastern 
city  ;  and  many  fierce  deeds  they  did,  which  made 
them  no  better  beloved,  so  that  men  got  to  saying 


264  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

that  the  King's  men  were  but  little  better  than  the 
very  Skimmers  themselves.  Moreover,  it  is  not 
to  be  said  but  that  often  these  reivers  and  lifters 
were  met  by  the  riders  of  Longshaw  or  the  weap- 
oned  men  of  the  country-side,  and  put  to  the 
worse  by  them,  and  such  as  were  taken  at  these 
times  had  nought  for  it  save  the  noose  on  the  tree. 

Thus  then  these  two  hosts  looked  across  the 
Sundering  Flood  on  each  other ;  and  surely, 
unless  the  Craftsmen  had  been  valiant  and  stub- 
born beyond  most,  they  had  lost  heart,  whereas 
war  was  not  their  mystery.  Skirmishes  there 
were  a  many.  Whiles  Sir  Godrick  would  gather 
such  boats  and  barges  as  they  had,  and  thrust 
over  into  the  haven,  and  lay  hold  of  some  good 
ship  and  strive  to  have  her  over  to  their  side. 
Whiles  they  might  do  nought  therein,  and  whiles 
they  prevailed  ;  but  even  then  the  King's  men 
contrived  to  set  fire  aboard  the  craft  and  spoil 
their  play.  Again,  from  time  to  time  the  King's 
men  would  set  certain  ships  and  barges  across  the 
Flood,  and  strive  to  land  and  skirmish  on  the 
east  side.  But  herein  they  but  seldom  gained 
aught,  but  they  in  turn  would  have  their  ships 
burned  and  their  men  slain  or  taken.  Thus  then 
it  went  on,  and  now  one  now  the  other  came  to 
their  above  ;  but  neither  might  make  an  end  of  it. 

At  last,  on  a  day  when  September  was  well 
worn,  the  King's  folk  came  to  the  midmost  of 
the  upper  bridge  with  a  white  shield  aloft  and  a 
herald,  and  craved  safe  conduct  for  three  of  theirs, 
an  old  knight  to  wit,  and  two  aldermen  of  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  265 

Porte  ;  this  was  granted,  and  they  came  all  to 
the  North  Gate,  and  the  council-chamber  of  the 
Lesser  Crafts  therein.  There  they  set  forth  their 
errand,  which  was  in  short  that  they  would  have 
peace  if  it  might  be  had  on  such  terms  as  were 
better  than  war  and  destruction.  The  men  of 
the  Small  Crafts  took  their  errand  well,  and 
asked  them  how  long  they  might  tarry,  so  that 
they  might  bear  back  conditions  of  peace.  The 
messengers  said  that  they  were  not  looked  for 
back  that  day,  and  the  others  said  that  by  the 
next  day  at  noon  they  would  be  all  ready  to  send 
three  of  theirs  back  across  the  water  with  the 
terms  of  peace.  Then  were  the  messengers 
handed  over  to  the  guest-masters  and  made  much 
of,  and  the  masters  of  the  Crafts  fell  to  close 
council  with  Sir  Godrick  and  his  captains.  Now 
whatever  other  terms  they  bade  need  not  be 
told,  but  the  heart  of  the  matter  was  this :  First, 
that  so  many  of  the  masters  of  the  Small  Crafts 
should  sit  on  the  Great  Council  of  the  City,  and 
that  enough  to  make  them  of  due  weight  in  the 
Council.  This  they  doubted  not  to  gain  since 
the  war  had  gone  with  them.  But  the  other  was 
a  harder  matter,  to  wit,  that  a  Burgreve  should 
be  appointed  to  govern  the  City,  and  that  he 
should  be  of  might  to  hold  a  good  guard,  and  eke 
it  at  his  will  and  the  will  of  the  Great  Council ; 
the  said  Burgreve  to  be  chosen  by  all  the  Guilds 
of  Craft,  voting  one  with  another,  and  not  by  the 
Great  Council ;  which,  as  things  went,  would 
give  the  naming  of  him  into  the  hands  of  the 


266  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Lesser  Crafts,  who  were  more  than  the  great 
ones,  though  far  less  rich  and  mighty.  This 
indeed  seemed  hke  to  be  hard  to  swallow,  whereas 
it  was  much  like  putting  the  King  out  of  his 
place.  Yet  some  said  that  belike  by  this  time 
the  Porte  was  grown  mightier  than  the  King,  and 
if  they  would  have  it  so,  then  would  he  have  to 
give  way.  Herein  they  were  doubtless  right; 
but  another  thing  had  happened  of  which  they 
knew  nought,  which  was  driving  the  King  and 
Porte  both  toward  peace,  to  wit,  that  a  king  from 
over-sea  had  sent  heralds  defying  the  King,  and 
that  his  host  was  to  be  looked  for  in  no  long 
while,  and  the  King  and  the  Porte  well  knew  that 
they  might  make  no  head  against  him,  so  divided 
as  they  of  the  City  then  were.  Wherefore  when 
on  the  next  day  the  three  King's  men  bore  back 
the  terms  of  peace,  they  tarried  but  a  little  while, 
and  came  back  in  two  hours  with  safe  conduct  for 
as  many  as  Sir  Godrick  and  the  Small  Crafts 
would  send.  Whereon  Sir  Godrick  and  two  of 
the  Crafts  were  chosen,  and  went  back  across  the 
water  straightway,  and  without  any  tarrying  fell 
to  council  with  the  King  and  the  Porte.  There 
they  soon  found  what  had  befallen,  and  that  their 
matter  was  like  to  be  carried  through  with  a  wet 
finger,  for  the  others  were  in  hot  haste  both  to 
make  peace  and  to  get  the  swords  of  Longshaw 
on  their  side  against  the  Outland  men.  Nor  did 
they  gainsay  any  one  condition  which  the  Small 
Crafts  had  put  forward,  but  added  only  this  one 
thing,  that  the  host  of  Longshaw  should  join  with 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  267 

them  in  defending  the  City  against  the  Outland 
men.  Hereto  Sir  Godrick.  accorded  well,  for  he 
had  no  mind  that  all  his  battle  for  the  Small 
Crafts  should  have  been  of  no  avail,  as  it  would 
be  if  Outlanders  were  to  conquer  the  City  and 
play  the  tyrant  there.  The  very  next  day  then 
was  peace  signed  and  sealed  on  the  terms  above- 
said.  And  three  days  thereafter  the  Porte  and 
the  Crafts  went  about  the  choosing  of  the  Bur- 
greve.  As  none  doubted  it  would  be.  Sir  God- 
rick was  chosen,  and,  which  had  scarce  been 
looked  for,  none  else  was  named  ;  both  big  crafts 
and  little  would  have  none  but  he. 


CHAPTER   XLIX.     THE    RED    LAD 
TAKES    LEAVE    OF   SIR   GODRICK. 

NOW  then  was  great  feast  and  glee  in  the 
City  of  the  Sundering  Flood.  The  gates 
were  thrown  open,  the  bridges  made  free, 
the  country-folk  flocked  in,  and  the  markets  were 
thronged  and  gay  ;  neighbour  held  merry  converse 
with  neighbour,  and  there  was  marrying  and 
giving  in  marriage.  Of  the  Outland  foe  none 
thought,  save  it  were  the  King  and  one  or  two  of 
his  councillors  ;  for  all  men  trusted  in  Sir  Godrick 
that  he  would  look  to  the  safe-guarding  of  the 
City.  But  as  for  Sir  Godrick,  like  a  wise  man  of 
war  he  set  to  work  looking  to  all  points  of  defence, 
both  the  castles  of  the  town  and  especially  the 
ships  in  the  haven,  that  they  were  as  defensible 
as  might  be. 

And  after  all  the  Outland  king  came  not  all 
that  year,  whereas  he  had  fallen  sick  when  he  was 
just  at  point  to  take  ship  with  his  host ;  so  that 
all  was  put  off  till  the  next  spring,  and  there 
was  time  and  to  spare  for  Sir  Godrick  to  do  all 
he  would  in  strengthening  the  defences  of  the 
City.  But  none  the  more  for  that  was  he  sluggish, 
but  did  so  much  that  he  made  the  City  of  the 
Sundering  Flood  exceeding  strong,  so  that  it  might 
scarce  be  stronger  :  and  all  things  flourished  there  ; 
old  foes  became  new  friendsj  and  all  men  were 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  269 

well  content,  save  it  were  the  King  and  his  faitours, 
who  rued  it  now  that  they  had  sold  themselves  so 
cheap. 

Amidst  all  this,  Osberne  was  somewhat  more 
at  Longshaw  and  the  borders  of  the  Wood 
Masterless  than  in  the  City.  Of  numberless  folk 
did  he  ask  his  old  questions,  and  gat  ever  the 
same  answer,  that  they  knew  nought  of  it ;  and 
indeed  now  it  was  less  and  less  like  that  they 
should  know  aught  as  time  wore.  So  that  at  last 
he  began  to  get  ungleeful  at  whiles  and  few-spoken 
with  men.  Came  the  spring,  and  therewith  the 
mighty  Outland  conqueror ;  but  the  shortest  tale 
to  tell  of  him  is,  that  there  he  conquered  nothing, 
but  was  held  aloof  at  all  points,  save  here  and 
there  he  was  suffered  to  break  through  to  his  great 
scathe.  But  his  host  was  so  big,  that  he  hung 
about  till  the  autumn.  He  gat  but  one  gain, 
such  as  it  was,  that  ere  he  brake  up  his  host  the 
King  of  the  City  fled  to  him  and  became  his  friend. 
And  they  two  took  rede  together  as  to  what  they 
should  do  the  next  year  to  fall  upon  the  land 
which  was  his,  as  he  said. 

Meantime,  his  back  being  turned  upon  his  once 
subjects,  many  men  began  to  think  that  belike 
they  might  do  without  him  once  and  for  all,  when 
they  cast  up  the  use  he  had  been  to  them  in  times 
past.  And  this  imagination  grew,  until  at  last  a 
great  Mote  was  called,  and  there  it  was  put 
forward,  that  since  the  City  had  a  Porte  and  a 
great  Council,  and  a  Burgreve  under  these,  the 
office  of  King  was   little  needed  there.     So  first 


270  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

with  one  accord  they  escheated  their  runaway,  who 
they  well  knew  would  henceforth  be  their  foe,  and 
gave  out  that  all  they  who  had  held  of  him  should 
now  hold  of  the  Porte ;  and  next,  with  little  gain- 
saying, they  did  away  with  the  office  of  King  al- 
together, and  most  men  felt  the  lighter-hearted 
therefor.  And  the  City  throve  as  well  as  ever  it 
had  done.      So  wore  that  year  to  an  ending. 

The  next  year  the  two  Kings  did  in  very  sooth 
bring  a  great  host  against  that  folk ;  but  fell  not 
on  the  City  itself,  but  gat  a-land  some  twenty 
miles  to  the  south-east  thereof;  and  this  they  did 
easily,  because  Sir  Godrick,  with  the  rede  of  the 
Great  Council,  let  them  do  so  much,  whereas  he 
deemed  it  were  well  if  he  might  be  done  with  them 
once  and  for  all.  So  he  gat  the  very  pick  of  his 
folk  together,  of  whom  was  the  Red  Lad  in  high 
place,  much  dreaded  of  all  his  foemen. 

Then  Sir  Godrick  by  his  wisdom  chose  time 
and  place  for  the  battle,  whereas  the  others  must 
fight  when  and  where  he  would.  Such  an  over- 
throw they  gat,  that  they  might  not  draw  to  a 
head  again.  The  old  City  King,  fighting  desper- 
ately, was  slain  by  the  Red  Lad  in  the  beginning 
of  the  rout ;  but  the  other  King  escaped  by  sharp 
spurring  and  the  care  and  valour  of  his  best 
knights,  who  rode  about  him  in  a  plump.  He 
stayed  not  till  he  came  to  his  ships,  where  he  gat 
aboard  and  sailed  away  to  his  own  land,  whence 
he  came  back  again  never  to  trouble  the  City  of 
the  Sundering  Flood. 


CHAPTER  L.   THE  RED  LAD  SPEAKS 
PRIVILY   WITH    SIR    GODRICK. 

THIS  befell  in  April,  and  toward  the  latter 
days  of  it  Osberne  came  before  Sir  God- 
rick  and  would  talk  with  him  apart,  and  Sir 
Godrick  received  him  with  all  kindness,  and  spake 
to  him  privily,  and  asked  him  what  he  would. 
Said  Osberne  :  Lord  and  dear  friend,  thou  art 
now  become  a  mighty  lord  far  greater  than  most 
kings.  So  busy  have  our  two  lives  been  with 
deeds  that  might  not  be  set  aside,  that  now  for  a 
long  time  we  two  have  had  but  little  converse  to- 
gether such  as  friends  desire.  Yet  nevertheless 
through  it  all  I  have  felt  thy  love  unto  me,  as 
mine  unto  thee,  wherefore  this  word  that  I  must 
say  Irks  me  sorely,  to  wit,  that  now  at  last  we 
must  presently  part. 

Said  Sir  Godrick  :  If  I  am  become  a  mighty 
ruler,  thou  hast  become  a  warrior  so  mighty  that 
I  well  think  the  world  holds  none  other  such ; 
and  true  it  Is  that  I  love  thee  no  worse  for  all 
the  hard  and  troublous  days.  And  hard  and 
troublous  have  they  been  forsooth  ;  so  that  oft 
have  I  bethought  me  of  that  old  man  the  king  of 
the  kine,  and  his  welcome  and  his  bidding,  in  the 
wide  green  valley  by  the  river  whereby  we  passed 
when  we  were  wending  to  Longshaw  that  first 
time,  though  well  I  wot  that  earth  has  no  such 
refuge  for  me.     I  say  thou  art  great,  and  I  love 


272  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

thee;  wherefore  thou  hast  a  right  to  make  thy 
choice,  and  least  of  all  would  I  balk  thee  in  thy 
desire.  Belike  we  may  meet  again.  Now  wilt 
thou  tell  me  what  thou  wilt  do  ?  Said  Osberne  : 
With  a  good  will.  For  this  is  true,  lord,  that 
having  been  now  five  years  amongst  all  sorts  of 
folk,  and  some  of  them  being  such  as  might  tell 
me  some  tidings  of  what  I  seek,  I  have  had  no 
tidings,  and  now  needs  must  I  say  that  lost  is 
lost.  But  first,  before  I  give  all  up,  I  will  go  to 
Longshaw  and  abide  there,  and  hang  about  the 
Wood  for  a  month,  to  give  me  one  last  chance ; 
and  then  if  nought  befall,  I  shall  ride  straight  to 
my  folk  in  the  Dale  beside  the  Sundering  Flood, 
and  there  shall  1  live  and  die  in  such  content  as  I 
may.  And  I  do  thee  to  wit,  my  friend,  that  the 
picture  of  the  grey  bents  and  the  long  houses, 
and  the  sheep  and  beasts  going  to  and  fro,  and  the 
few  folk  of  the  stead,  and  the  hall  within  with  its 
shining  black  timbers,  all  this  comes  before 
me  and  softens  my  heart.  For  hast  thou  not 
noted  how  bitter  and  surly  I  have  grown  in 
these  latter  days  ?  I  have  seen  thee  sad,  said 
Sir  Godrick.  Nay,  said  Osberne,  it  is  worse  than 
that ;  but  let  it  be.  Well,  now  I  shall  tell  thee 
another  thing  that  hath  got  hold  of  me,  and  thou 
wilt  think  it  wild  folly  belike.  But  this  it  is : 
When  I  am  in  my  own  Dale  again,  then  the  first 
morning  when  I  arise  I  shall  hie  me  straight  to 
that  old  trysting-place,  and  look  across  the  Sun- 
dering Flood ;  and  then  it  may  be  that  a  miracle 
of  God  shall   betide,    and   that   I    shall   see    my 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  273 

maiden  there  in  her  old  place,  and  then  shall  we 
be  no  more  utterly  disunited,  as  though  each  for 
each  we  were  neither  of  us  in  the  world. 

Said  Sir  Godrick :  This  is  a  hope  of  no  great 
things,  nor  is  it  like  to  come  about.  Were  it 
well  for  this  to  leave  thy  fellows  and  thy  friends 
and  all  the  fame  of  thine  that  shall  be  .?  Osberne 
laughed.  Ah  yes,  he  said,  some  deal  I  know  it 
now,  that  fame ;  when  we  draw  together  before 
the  foemen,  and  our  men  cry  out.  The  Red  Lad  ! 
the  Red  Lad !  in  no  faltering  voice,  and  even 
therewith  the  foeman's  ranks  quaver,  as  the  trees 
of  the  wood  when  the  wind  comes  up  from  the 
ground  amongst  them ;  and  then  I  ride  forward  with 
Board-cleaver  in  my  fist,  and  the  arrows  fly  away 
about  me  for  fear,  and  the  array  opens  before  me, 
and  we  plunge  in  and  find  nought  there,  and  the 
rout  goes  down  the  green  meadows.  Yea,  so  it 
is,  and  many  deem  it  fair.  But  then  comes  the 
quiet  of  the  night,  and  my  comrades  are  as  though 
they  were  dead,  and  my  praisers  are  voiceless,  and 
I  am  alone ;  and  then  meseems  it  is  I  that  have 
been  overthrown  and  thwarted,  and  not  thine 
enemies  and  mine,  my  friend.  Nay,  let  me  go 
back  to  my  folk  and  the  land  that  I  know,  and 
that  endures  before  me  when  others  have  faded 
out ;  there  will  I  abide  whatso  may  come  to  me. 
Then  he  said:  Moreover  there  is  this  last  month 
at  Longshaw ;  who  knows  what  may  there  be- 
tide? I  shall  keep  my  eyes  and  ears  open  I 
promise  thee.     Ah  !  said  Sir  Godrick,  but  beware. 

Red  Lad,  beware  !  thou  knowest  how  much  hatred 

18 


274  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

thou  hast  drawn  upon  thee  for  thy  dealings  with 
the  rascaile  of  the  Wood.  Be  sure  that  traps 
will  be  laid  for  thee,  and  look  to  it  that  thou 
walk  not  into  one  !  And  now  I  will  say  to  thee 
farewell  !  It  may  he  many  a  long  day  ere  I  see 
thy  face  again  ;  and  yet  methinks  I  shall.  And 
now  I  tell  thee,  that  hitherto  I  have  had  more 
than  enough  gain  out  of  thee,  and  scarce  enough 
of  joy.  Maybe  in  days  to  come  it  shall  be 
otherwise. 

So  they  kissed  and  departed  each  from  each. 
And  Osberne  made  no  farewells  to  anyone  else, 
and  said  that  he  was  for  Longshaw,  and  should 
abide  there  a  month  or  so.  And  thus  he  rode 
his  ways. 


CHAPTER    LI.     OSBERNE   IS   BE- 
GUILED   BY    FELONS. 

NOW  he  took  up  his  abode  there ;  and 
presently  took  to  going  day  after  day 
along  a  certain  path,  which  was  just  well 
within  the  borders  of  the  Wood.  And  there  he 
would  walk  well-nigh  all  day,  sometimes  going 
further,  sometimes  stopping  short  and  going  to 
and  fro,  and  this  became  known  to  all  men  ;  and 
such  times  he  was  unarmed,  save  that  he  was  girt 
with  Board-cleaver  under  his  gown.  Now  on 
the  thirteenth  day  of  his  sojourn  he  walked  this 
path,  and  had  gone  somewhat  further  than  usual, 
and  was  beginning  to  think  of  turning  back,  when 
there  came  a  man  toward  him  from  the  Wood 
and  hailed  him,  and  he  took  his  greeting.  The 
man  was  clad  in  black,  and  had  a  buckler  at  his 
back  and  sword  and  dagger  by  his  side,  a  white 
sallet  on  his  head :  a  long-nosed,  dark-haired 
man,  beardless  and  thin-lipped,  whose  eyes  came 
somewhat  too  near  to  each  other  each  side  of  his 
head.  He  looked  as  if  he  might  be  some  chap- 
man's servant.  Osberne  looked  for  him  to  pass 
by  him,  and  stood  a  little  aside ;  but  the  man 
stopped  and  said :  O  famous  warrior,  might  a 
carle  of  no  worth  speak  with  thee  a  few  words 
this  noon  ?  Why  not  ?  said  Osberne  smiling, 
for  never  might  he  bring  himself  to  the  fashion 
of  great  men  to  be  rough  and  short  with  common 


276  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

folk.  Said  the  newcomer :  Thou  art  far  from 
the  host  to-day,  and  hast  no  angry  look  on  thee, 
wherefore  I  shall  risk  thy  wrath  by  saying  that 
thou  lookest  somewhat  less  than  gleeful,  great 
warrior.  Said  Osberne :  I  have  a  trouble  on  me, 
and  I  have  been  forced  to  let  many  men  know 
thereof.  Wilt  thou  tell  me  thereof?  said  the 
newcomer;  maybe  I  shall  be  the  last  to  whom 
thou  shalt  tell  it.  Osberne  looked  on  him  a 
while  doubtfully  and  anxiously ;  at  last  he  said : 
This  it  is.  Five  years  ago  a  maiden  was  stolen 
from  me,  and  I  have  sought  her  since  in  many 
places,  and  have  heard  no  word  concerning  her 
of  any  avail.  Said  the  carle  :  Dost  thou  remem- 
ber the  battle  in  the  square  and  the  carfax  of  the 
great  City,  and  how  there  was  a  man  before  thy 
mighty  hand  who  cried  out  to  spare  his  life,  for 
that  he  could  tell  thee  of  the  said  maiden  ?  and 
thereon  thou  wert  about  to  give  him  peace,  but 
ere  thou  couldst  take  him  to  thy  mercy  he  was 
slain  by  one  of  the  carle-weavers  ^  Yea,  said 
Osberne,  I  remember  it.  Now,  said  the  carle,  I 
shall  make  no  mystery  of  it,  but  shall  tell  thee 
at  once  that  that  same  man  was  the  brother  of 
the  master  whom  now  I  serve.  And  I  have  an 
errand  from  him  unto  thee,  and  he  saith  that 
what  his  brother  knew,  he  knows,  and  somewhat 
more  ;  and  thy  maiden  is  yet  alive,  and  that  he 
can  tell  thee  how  to  find  her  surely  if  thou  wilt. 
And  he  is  not  far  hence.  Osberne  looked  some- 
what wildly,  and  he  caught  the  carle  by  the  hand 
and  cried  out :  Good  fellow,  bring  me  to  him  at 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  277 

once  and  I  will  well  reward  thee.  Nay,  said  the 
carle,  but  there  comes  something  before  that ;  my 
master  is  a  chapman,  and  liveth  by  selling,  not 
by  giving;  and  he  will  take  of  thee  two  hundred 
nobles  before  thou  hast  his  tale.  Thou  and  I 
may  call  that  weregild  for  the  slaying  of  his 
brother.  Yea,  said  Osberne,  but  I  carry  not  two 
hundred  nobles  in  my  pouch.  Well  then,  said 
the  carle,  I  will  be  here  to-morrow  or  the  day 
after,  if  thou  wilt.  O  nay,  nay,  said  Osberne, 
but  abide  thou  here,  and  I  will  go  up  to  the  castle 
and  fetch  the  gold.  So  be  it,  said  the  carle  ;  and 
he  sat  him  down  by  the  way-side,  and  pulled  out 
victuals  and  wine  from  his  scrip  and  fell  to  dining. 
But  Osberne  put  forth  all  his  swiftness  of  foot, 
and  was  speedily  in  his  lodging,  and  came  to 
his  treasury  and  took  forth  the  gold  and  set  it 
in  a  bag,  and  hastened  back  again,  and  found  the 
carle  where  he  had  left  him.  Thou  art  swift-foot 
indeed,  said  the  carle,  but  belike  thou  shalt  not 
often  again  run  so  fast  as  thou  hast  e'en  now. 
But  thou  art  breathed  ;  wilt  thou  not  sit  down 
a  while  till  thou  come  round?  No,  said  Osberne 
shortly,  I  will  on  at  once.  Well  then,  said  the 
carle  with  a  grin,  suffer  me  to  carry  thy  bag. 
Take  it,  said  Osberne,  and  reached  it  out  to  him. 
The  carle  handled  the  bag  and  said  :  Plump  are 
the  nobles,  lord,  if  there  be  but  two  hundred 
herein.  There  is  more  in  it,  said  Osberne,  for 
there  is  the  gift  for  thee.  But  lead  thou  on 
straightway.  So  the  carle  led  on,  and  they  went 
by  divers   woodland   paths  for  some   two  hours, 


278  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  then  they  heard  the  sound  of  a  little  water 
falling.  Quoth  the  carle :  It  is  down  in  this 
ghyll  that  my  master  promised  to  abide  me. 
And  therewith  he  began  to  go  down  the  side  of 
a  ghyll  well  bushed  and  treed,  and  somewhat 
steep,  and  Osberne  followed  him.  When  they 
got  to  the  bottom  there  was  a  fair  space  of  flat 
greensward  underneath  a  little  force  of  the  water; 
but  no  man  awaited  them. 

Where  is  thy  master,  good  fellow  ?  said  Os- 
berne. He  will  scarce  be  far,  said  the  carle;  I 
will  call  him.  And  therewith  he  set  two  fingers 
to  his  mouth  and  whistled  shrilly.  Now  Osberne 
was  all  beswinked  with  his  run  to  and  fro  the 
castle  and  his  two  hours'  walk  thereafter,  and  he 
was  sore  athirst,  so  he  went  down  on  his  knees  to 
drink  of  the  clear  little  pool  beneath  the  force. 
And  now,  what  with  the  failing  day  and  the  tall 
trees  well-nigh  meeting  overhead,  it  was  dusk  in 
the  ghyll ;  and  moreover  as  Osberne  drank,  and 
he  was  in  no  hurry  about  it,  with  his  face  to  the 
force  and  his  back  to  the  length  of  the  ghyll,  the 
tinkling  and  splashing  of  the  force  deafened  his 
ears  to  any  sound  but  a  somewhat  big  one.  So 
he  drank  and  thought  no  evil ;  but  of  a  sudden 
he  felt  a  sharp  pain  in  his  left  side,  and  ere  he 
could  say  that  he  knew  he  had  been  smitten,  an- 
other and  another,  and  he  rolled  over  on  to  the 
greensward  and  lay  still,  and  there  stood  above 
him  three  men,  the  carle-messenger  to  wit  and 
another  of  like  sort,  and  a  third  clad  in  white 
armour.     The  end  of  the  Red  Lad !  quoth  the 


THE    SUNDERING    FLOOD  279 

messenger.  Nay,  said  the  other  carle,  draw  thy 
sword  and  smite  the  head  from  him,  lord ;  make 
sure  of  him.  The  knight  half-drew  his  sword 
from  the  scabbard  ;  but  then  stayed  his  hand  and 
said  in  a  quavering  voice :  Nay,  nay  !  let  us  be- 
gone !  Dost  thou  not  see  ?  There  is  one  sitting 
by  him  !  It  is  a  bush  in  the  dusk,  said  the  other ; 
give  me  thy  sword.  But  the  knight  for  all  answer 
ran  swiftly  down  the  ghyll,  and  they  two  that 
were  left  shrank  and  trembled,  for  there  verily  sat 
one  by  the  wounded  man  In  a  scarlet  kirtle,  as 
they  deemed,  and  a  bright  steel  basnet.  So  they 
ran  also  after  their  master,  and  all  three  fell  to 
climbing  the  side  of  the  ghyll. 

Now  about  a  mile  thence  was  a  certain  hermit- 
age in  a  clearing  of  the  Wood,  and  when  the  night 
was  growing  dark  the  door  was  smitten  on,  and 
when  the  hermit  opened,  there  was  before  him  a 
tall  noble-looking  man  in  scarlet  kirtle  and  bright 
steel  basnet,  bearing  in  his  arms  another  man  dead 
or  grievously  hurt.  And  the  tall  man  said  :  Canst 
thou  leechdom  ?  Yea,  said  the  hermit,  therein 
have  I  been  well  learned.  See  here  then,  here  is 
a  man  grievously  hurt,  but  he  is  not  dead.  Now 
I  have  done  all  I  might  for  him,  for  by  my  craft 
I  have  staunched  his  blood ;  but  I  wot  that  he 
needeth  long  leechdom  to  be  made  whole.  Now 
I  may  not  come  under  thy  roof,  so  take  him  of 
me,  and  lay  him  on  thy  bed  and  look  to  him,  and 
do  thy  best ;  for  if  thou  heal  him  thou  shalt  thrive, 
and  if  thou  heal  him  not  thou  shalt  dwindle. 
Fair  sir,  said  the  hermit,  I  need  neither  promise 


28o  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

nor  threat,  for  God's  love  and  AUhallows'  I  will 
heal  him  if  it  may  be. 

So  he  took  Osberne  from  Steelhead's  arms,  and 
being  a  stark  and  big  man  got  him  on  to  the  bed 
and  did  off  his  raiment.  Then  he  searched  his 
grievous  hurts  according  to  leechcraft,  and  pres- 
ently looked  up  from  the  wounded  man  and  said : 
Since  this  man  is  not  yet  dead,  I  deem  not  his 
hurts  deadly,  and  I  think  to  heal  him  with  the 
help  of  the  Holy  Saints.  Said  Steelhead  :  Thou 
hast  in  thy  mouth,  my  friend,  a  deal  of  holiness 
that  I  know  nought  of.  But  I  thank  thee,  and  if 
thou  heal  my  friend  verily  I  will  call  thee  Holy. 
Now  shall  I  depart,  but  to-morrow  forenoon  I 
shall  come  here  again  and  learn  tidings  of  him. 
Go  in  peace,  and  God  and  AUhallows  keep  thee, 
said  the  hermit.  Well,  well,  said  Steelhead,  we  will 
not  contend  about  it,  but  I  look  to  it  to  keep  my- 
self.    And  therewith  he  strode  off  into  the  night. 

There  then  lay  Osberne  between  life  and  death 
a  long  while ;  but  after  a  time  he  began  to  mend, 
and  came  to  his  right  mind,  and  remembered  the 
felon-strokes  in  the  ghyll ;  but  of  Steelhead's  being 
there  he  knew  nothing,  for  Steelhead  had  charged 
the  hermit  to  say  no  word  of  it  to  him.  The 
hermit  was  a  good  and  kind  man  and  a  well- 
learned  leech,  and  after  a  while  Osberne  began  to 
mend  speedily.  And  he  would  have  amended 
speedier,  but  he  was  sick  at  heart  that  his  sudden 
hope  had  so  failed  him,  and  said  within  himself 
that  now  all  hope  was  gone.  Albeit  the  Dale  and 
Wethermel  drew  him  to  them  without  ceasing. 


CHAPTER    LII.     THE     MEETING    OF 
OSBERNE   AND    ELFHILD. 

AT  last,  when  it  was  some  five  weeks  from 
the  time  of  that  felony,  and  Osberne  was 
on  his  legs  again,  and  had  gone  to  and 
fro  in  the  Wood  nigh  to  the  hermit's  cell,  now  he 
began  to  think,  he  must  get  him  home  to  the  house 
of  Longshaw,  and  thence  away  to  the  Dale  with 
a  trusty  guide  ;  and  the  hermit  would  not  say  him 
nay,  whereas  his  strength  was  but  just  come  back 
to  him. 

On  a  time  he  went  abroad  from  the  cell,  and 
was  girt  to  Board-cleaver  lest  he  should  come 
across  aught  ill ;  he  went  somewhat  further  than 
he  had  been  wont,  till  the  day  was  beginning  to 
draw  toward  sunset.  It  was  now  the  latter  end 
of  May,  and  the  leaves  and  boughs  were  at  their 
fairest ;  the  sky  was  bright  and  blue,  and  the  birds 
were  singing  in  heavenly  choir,  and  he  scarce 
thought  it  good  to  go  back  speedily  to  the  dark 
cell.  So  he  went  on  a  little  further  and  a  little 
further,  till  he  was  ware  in  the  glade  before  him 
of  one  whom,  as  she  drew  nigher  to  him,  he  saw 
to  be  a  seemly  dame  as  for  her  years,  straight  and 
tall ;  neither  was  she  clad  in  rags,  but  in  a  comely 
black  gown  and  white  coif.  Nevertheless,  as  'tis 
said,  Once  bit,  twice  shy,  so  it  was  with  him,  and 
he  was  for  giving  her  the  go-by.  But  she  would 
not  have  it  so,  and  she  greeted  him  and  said :  Hail 


282  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

to  thee,  noble;  whence  art  thou  last?  Her  voice 
was  clear  and  good,  and  now  as  he  looked  in  her 
face  he  deemed  he  saw  no  evil  in  it,  but  good-will 
rather.  But  he  said  :  Hail  to  thee,  dame ;  I  am 
last  from  a  sick-bed,  where  guile  and  felony  had 
laid  me.  Well,  said  she,  but  there  is  something 
else  than  guile  and  felony  in  the  world,  is  there 
not  ^  I  know  not,  said  he  shortly.  I  have  seen 
something  else,  if  only  once,  she  said.  I  have 
seen  truth  and  good-faith  and  constancy  and  hope 
without  reward  ;  and  five  years  have  worn  no  whit 
of  that  away.  Hah,  said  he ;  was  it  a  man,  a 
warrior  ?  Meseems  I  know  one  such,  were  it  not 
for  the  hope.  Nay,  said  she,  it  is  a  woman.  And 
what  like  is  she  to  look  on  ?  said  he.  She  an- 
swered :  If  thou  wilt  come  with  me,  she  is  no 
great  way  hence  abiding  my  home-coming.  Said 
Osberne :  But  what  or  who  is  it  she  is  true  to  ? 
or  for  whom  doth  she  long,  hoping  against  hope  ? 
Is  it  father,  brother,  son,  sister,  or  what  ?  Said 
the  carline  :  It  is  her  troth-plight  man  ;  and  verily 
I,  as  well  as  she,  deem  that  he  is  worthy  of  it;  or 
was  when  last  she  saw  him. 

Osberne  laughed,  and  said:  Good  dame,  if  this 
be  so,  what  profit  were  it  to  me  to  see  her  ?  I 
am  not  her  troth-plight  man,  and  if  it  be  as  thou 
sayest,  I  shall  be  unto  her  as  one  of  the  trees  of 
the  Wood.  There  will  be  this  profit,  said  the  car- 
line,  that  thou  wilt  set  eyes  on  one  of  the  fairest 
creatures  that  God  ever  made.  Small  profit  therein, 
said  Osberne,  laughing  again,  if  I  set  eyes  on  her 
beauty  and  am  ensnared   thereby;   then    maybe 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  283 

shall  be  another  tale  for  this  woodland.  For  be- 
like thou  deemest  me  old,  but  I  am  a  young  man, 
only  I  am  haggard  with  the  battle  between  life 
and  death  as  I  lay  wounded  yonder.  Therewith 
he  pulled  aback  his  hood,  and  the  carline  came 
close  up  to  him  and  looked  him  hard  in  the  face, 
but  said  nothing.  Then  he  said  :  Dame,  to  be 
short  with  thee,  I  have  walked  into  the  trap  once, 
and  will  not  again  if  I  may  help  it.  Now  I  know 
not  what  thou  art ;  for  all  I  know  thou  mayst  be 
a  bait  of  my  foes,  or  even  a  sending  from  evil 
things.  Nor  hast  thou  yet  said  any  word  why 
specially  I  should  come  with  thee. 

She  was  still  standing  close  to  him,  and  now 
she  laid  her  hand  on  his  breast  and  said:  This  I 
say  as  a  last  word,  and  thou  must  take  it  how 
thou  wilt.  If  thou  dost  not  come  with  me  now, 
thou  shalt  rue  it  only  once,  to  wit,  all  thy  life 
long. 

He  looked  on  her  and  knit  his  brows,  and 
said  at  last :  Well,  it  is  little  to  throw  away  the 
end  of  my  life,  and  there  may  be  some  tidings  or 
tracks  of  tidings  to  be  found.  I  will  go  with 
thee,  dame.  Only  this  time,  he  muttered,  let 
there  be  no  coming  to  life  again. 

Thou  art  wise,  said  the  carline  ;  let  us  lose  no 
time.  So  they  set  off,  and  up  and  down  by 
rough  and  smooth,  till  the  Wood  was  quite  dark, 
and  the  stars  were  overhead  when  they  came  to 
a  clearing,  and  sweet  was  the  peace  of  the  May 
night.  At  last  they  saw  before  them  a  glimmer 
of  light,  which  as  they  wound  about  became  pre- 


284  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

sently  a  little  window,  yellow-litten,  and  casting 
its  light  upon  a  space  of  greensward  and  a  little 
tinkling  brook.  So  came  they  to  a  little  cot, 
seemly  enough  thatched  with  reed  from  the  wood- 
land meres.  Osberne  made  up  toward  the  door, 
but  the  carline  put  forth  her  hand  and  thrust 
him  back,  and  said  :  Not  yet ;  abide  where  thou 
art  a  minute ;  and  straightway  fell  to  going 
withershins  round  the  house.  This  she  did  three 
times,  while  Osberne  gat  his  anlace  bare  in  his 
hand. 

At  last  the  carline  came  to  him,  and  spake 
softly  to  him  in  his  ear  :  All  is  free  now,  dales- 
man, come  thou  !  And  she  took  him  by  the 
hand  and  opened  the  door,  and  lo,  a  little  hall 
like  many  another  cot,  but  clean  and  sweet  and 
comely.  Now  Osberne  had  pulled  his  hood 
about  his  face  again,  and  looked  round ;  for  as 
often  happens  when  one  enters  a  chamber,  the 
child  of  Adam  therein  is  the  last  thing  one  sees. 
Then  he  drew  back  a  little,  and  stood  there  trem- 
bling. For  what  was  in  the  chamber  besides  the 
simple  plenishing  was  a  maiden  who  stood  up  to 
receive  them ;  tall  she  was  and  slender,  clad  in  a 
dark  blue  gown  ;  her  hair  dark  brown  and  plen- 
teous, her  eyes  grey,  her  chin  round  and  lovely, 
her  cheeks  a  little  hollow,  and  in  the  hollow  of 
them  entreaty  and  all  enticement :  she  stood  look- 
ing shyly  at  the  newcomer,  of  whose  face  she 
might  see  but  httle.  The  carline  seemed  to  note 
neither  her  nor  Osberne,  but  cried  out  in  a  cheer- 
ful voice  :  Now,  child,  if  I  be  somewhat  later  than 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  285 

I  was  looked  for,  yet  I  have  brought  the  gift  of 
a  guest,  seest  thou  ;  a  good  knight  who  hath  of 
late  been  brought  to  death's  door  by  felon's  deed, 
but  is  now  grown  whole  and  fight-worthy  again. 
So  let  us  bestir  us  to  get  him  meat  and  drink  and 
all  that  he  needeth. 

So  they  fell  to,  while  Osberne  stood  where  he 
had  first  come  in  ;  and  he  scarce  knew  where  he 
was,  but  looked  down  on  the  floor,  as  though  the 
Sundering  Flood  of  the  Dales  rolled  betwixt  him 
and  the  maiden  ;  for  indeed  when  his  eyes  first 
fell  upon  her  he  knew  that  it  was  Elfhild.  Now 
the  two  women  had  not  been  long  at  dighting  the 
supper  ere  there  came  a  rough  knock  on  the  door, 
and  straightway  the  latch  was  lifted  and  in  strode 
three  men-at-arms  ;  two  in  jack  and  sallet  with 
bucklers  and  sword  and  dagger,  the  third  a  knight 
clad  in  white  armour  with  a  white  surcoat.  This 
stirred  Osberne  out  of  his  dream,  and  he  sat 
down  on  a  stool  nearer  in  than  he  had  been.  The 
Knight  cried  out :  Ho,  dame,  I  see  thou  hast  one 
guest,  and  now  here  be  three  more  for  thee  ;  we 
have  stabled  our  horses  in  thy  shed  already,  so 
thou  hast  nought  to  do  save  getting  us  our  sup- 
per :  dispatch  I  bid  thee.  And  now  who  is  this 
tall  carle  sitting  there  ? 

Osberne  knew  them  at  once  as  they  came  in, 
that  they  were  the  three  felons  who  had  smitten 
him  in  the  ghyll.  He  answered  nought,  and 
kept  his  hood  about  his  face.  Roger,  quoth  the 
Knight,  and  thou,  Simon,  cannot  ye  get  an  an- 
swer from  the  lither  loon  ?      Roger  lifted  up  his 


286  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

foot  and  kicked  Osberne  roughly,  and  Simon  laid 
hold  of  his  hood  to  pull  it  off  him,  but  found  it 
held  tight  enough  ;  and  Osberne  spake  in  a  gruff 
and  hollow  voice :  I  am  a  living  man  ;  ye  were 
best  to  let  me  be.  Then  had  there  been  battle 
at  once,  but  even  therewith  comes  in  Elfhild 
bearing  a  pewter  measure  of  wine  and  beakers 
withal,  and  the  newcomers  stood  staring  at  her 
beauty,  silent  for  a  minute.  Then  the  Knight 
did  off  his  basnet  and  spake  in  a  loose,  licorous 
voice  :  The  liquor  we  hoped  for,  but  not  the  cup- 
bearer ;  and  so  it  is,  that  I  would  liefer  have  the 
cup-bearer  than  the  cup.  Fair  maid,  will  not  a 
kiss  go  before  the  pouring  out  ?  or  never  shall  I 
have  heart  to  drink.  And  he  rose  up  and  went 
toward  the  maiden,  who  stood  confused  and 
trembling,  and  turned  pale.  But  Osberne  had 
risen  also,  and  with  a  quick  turn  had  thrust  be- 
tween the  White  Knight  and  Elfhild,  and  now 
stood  with  his  back  to  her,  facing  the  felons. 
What,  cur !  cried  the  White  Knight ;  shall  we 
have  thee  out  and  flay  thy  back  with  our  stirrup- 
leather  ?  Said  Osberne,  speaking  slowly :  That 
is  the  third  question  too  much  thou  hast  asked 
in  these  last  few  minutes.  Lo  thou  !  And  he 
shook  his  hood  from  his  face  and  had  Board- 
cleaver  bare  in  his  hand  straightway.  Then  those 
three  set  up  a  quavering  cry  of.  The  Red  Lad ! 
the  Red  Lad  !  and  ran  bundling  out  of  the  cot; 
but  Board-cleaver  was  swifter  than  they.  One  of 
the  serving-men  lost  his  head  just  outside  the 
threshold ;    the   Knight   stumbled   at   the   brook 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  287 

and  fell,  and  never  rose  again.  The  messenger 
strove  hard  for  the  thicket,  but  the  moon  was  up 
now,  and  it  was  but  a  few  strides  of  the  swift 
runner  of  the  Dale  ere  Board-cleaver  had  taken 
his  life. 

The  two  women  stood  looking  toward  the 
open  door  the  while,  and  the  maiden  said  faintly 
and  in  a  quavering  voice :  Mother,  what  is  it  ? 
what  has  befallen  ?  Tell  me,  what  am  I  to  do  ? 
Hush,  my  dear,  said  the  carline,  hush ;  it  is  but 
a  minute's  waiting  after  all  these  years.  Even 
therewith  came  a  firm  footstep  to  the  door,  and 
Osberne  stepped  quietly  over  the  threshold, 
bareheaded  now,  and  went  straight  to  Elfhild ; 
and  she  looked  on  him,  and  the  scared  look  went 
out  of  her  face,  and  nought  but  the  sweetness  of 
joyful  love  was  there.  And  he  cried  out :  O  my 
sweet,  where  is  now  the  Sundering  Flood  ?  And 
there  they  were  in  each  other's  arms,  as  though 
the  long  years  had  never  been. 


CHAPTER  LIII.  THEY  COME  TO 
WETHERMEL,  AND  THE  CARLINE 
BEGINS   A   TALE. 

NOW  turns  the  tale  to  Wethermel,  and 
tells  how  that  on  the  morrow  of  Mid- 
summer, five  years  to  the  day  since 
Osberne  had  bidden  them  farewell,  the  folk  once 
more  sat  without-doors  about  the  porch  in  the 
cool  of  the  evening ;  neither  was  there  any  miss- 
ing of  the  settled  folk  of  those  to  whom  he  had 
said  farewell,  for  all  had  thriven  there  that  while. 
There  sat  the  goodman,  more  chieftain-like  than 
of  old ;  there  sat  the  goodwife,  as  kind  as  ever, 
and  scarce  could  she  be  kinder ;  there  sat  Bridget, 
not  much  aged  in  her  five  years,  for  ever  she 
deemed  it  a  certain  thing  that  her  nursling  would 
come  back  to  her.  Lastly,  there  sat  Stephen  the 
Eater,  wise  of  aspect  and  thoughtful,  as  if  he 
were  awaiting  something  that  should  happen  that 
should  change  much  in  him ;  and  there  were  the 
carles  and  the  queans  who  had  been  familiar  to 
Osberne  ere  he  left  the  Dale  for  warfare,  with 
some  few  children  amongst  them  who  had  not 
been  there  five  years  ago.  It  was  growing  late 
now,  and  the  twilight  was  creeping  up  under  a 
cloudless  sky,  when  those  folk  saw  newcomers 
wending  the  lane  betwixt  the  outbowers,  and 
making  straight  for  the  house-porch.  They  were 
but  three,  and  as  they  drew  nigh  it  could  be  seen 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  289 

that  they  were  hooded  and  cloaked  despite  the 
warm  night ;  and  one  was  tall  and  seemed  a  stal- 
warth  man,  and  another  was  jimp  and  went  dain- 
tily, as  if  it  were  a  young  woman,  and  the  third, 
who  forsooth  had  her  face  but  little  hidden, 
seemed  a  carline  of  some  three-score  years  and 
ten. 

None  of  the  folk  stirred  save  Stephen  the 
Eater,  who  rose  up  as  if  to  welcome  the  guests ; 
and  the  tall  man  spake  in  a  strange  high  voice 
that  seemed  to  come  from  the  back  of  his  head  : 
May  we  three  wayfarers  be  here  to-night  ?  for  we 
saw  this  stead  from  afar,  and  it  seemed  a  plente- 
ous house,  and  we  deem  it  guest-kind.  Quoth 
Stephen :  A  free  and  fair  welcome  to  you ;  ye 
shall  eat  of  our  dish,  and  drink  of  our  cup,  and 
lie  as  the  best  of  us  do.  Ho,  ye  folk  !  now  were 
we  best  within  doors ;  for  our  guests  shall  be 
both  weary  and  hungry  belike. 

So  into  the  hall  they  wended,  and  the  three 
were  shown  to  a  good  place  amidmost  thereof,  so 
that  all  might  see  them;  and  there  they  sat,  the 
tall  man  innermost,  nighest  to  the  dais,  the  young 
woman  by  him,  and  the  carline  outermost.  Then 
came  in  the  meat,  which  was  both  plenteous  and 
good,  and  when  all  were  fulfilled  the  drink  was 
brought  in,  and  the  tall  man  arose  and  called  a 
health  on  Wethermel,  and  that  it  might  thrive 
ever.  But  some  men  thought  that,  as  he  lifted  his 
hand  to  put  the  cup  to  his  lips,  a  gleam  of  some- 
thing bright  came  from  under  his  wayfarer's  cloak. 
And  Stephen   the   Eater  called  a  health  on   the 

19 


290  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

wayfarers;  and  then  one  drank  to  one  thing,  one 
to  another,  and  men  waxed  merry  and  gleeful. 
But  at  last  rose  up  Stephen  the  Eater  and  spake : 
Meat  and  drink  and  lodging  is  free  without  price 
to  every  comer  to  Wethermel,  and  most  oft,  as 
here  it  is,  our  good  will  goes  with  it;  yet  me- 
seemeth  that  since  these  friends  of  ours  come 
belike  from  the  outlands  and  countries  where  is 
more  tidings  than  mostly  befalleth  here,  it  might 
please  them  to  make  us  their  debtors  by  saying 
us  some  lay,  or  telling  us  some  tale ;  for  we  be 
not  bustled  to  drink  the  voidee-cup  now,  these 
nights  of  Midsummer,  when  night  and  day  hold 
each  other's  hands  throughout  all  the  twenty-four 
hours. 

Then  rose  up  the  tall,  high-voiced  man  and 
said :  It  is  my  will  that  each  one  of  we  three 
should  say  something,  be  it  long  or  short,  to 
make  the  folk  of  Wethermel  glad,  for  they  have 
treated  us  wayfarers  as  though  we  were  lords  and 
kings,  and  their  words  go  to  our  hearts.  Now  I 
will  that  thou,  mother,  begin,  and  that  I  make  an 
end  of  this  saying. 

Then  he  sat  down,  and  the  carline  said :  I  am 
all  the  more  willing  to  this,  as  meseemeth  I  can 
tell  you  a  tale  such  as  ye  have  never  heard  the 
like  of,  and  which  will  move  every  heart  of  you. 
And  yet  I  must  pray  your  patience,  as  belike  it 
may  be  somewhat  long  for  a  tale  of  one  night's 
hall-glee ;  and  on  this  night  must  the  tale  be 
begun  and  ended.     Hearken  then  ! 

There  was  an  old  woman,  yet  no  cripple,  who 


THE    SUNDERING    FLOOD  29 1 

dwelt  in  a  stead  beside  a  great  river,  which  none 
might  cross  either  by  bridge  or  ford  or  ferry. 
But  she  dwelt  not  alone,  neither  was  the  house 
her  own ;  for  with  her  abode  a  damsel  young  of 
years,  who  was  the  owner  of  the  said  house,  but 
had  no  kindred,  for  father  and  mother  and  all  else 
had  passed  away  from  her.  Therefore  it  is  like 
that  the  Carline  came  to  dwell  with  her  because  she 
loved  the  Maiden,  and  would  serve  her  and  do 
good  to  her.  And  no  wonder  was  that,  for  not 
only  was  the  Maiden  now  grown  so  beauteous 
that  she  was  the  pearl  of  all  beauty,  but  also  she 
was  merry  and  kind,  and  loving  as  might  be.  So 
that  none  that  saw  her  but  must  love  her  if  they 
had  any  good  in  them. 

Now  ye  will  ask,  since  so  it  was  with  her,  was 
there  no  young  man  who  was  drawn  into  the  net 
of  her  love.  But  I  must  tell  you  that  the  stead 
where  these  twain  dwelt  was  lonely,  and  there  was 
but  little  recourse  of  folk  thither.  Yet  I  say  not 
but  that  there  was  more  than  one  young  man  of 
the  dwellers  thereby  who  thought  it  better  than 
good  to  come  to  the  house  and  sit  and  talk 
with  her,  and  would  have  kissed  and  caressed  her 
had  they  durst ;  but  they  durst  not,  for  not  one 
of  them  touched  her  heart ;  and  though  she  was 
kind  and  friendly  with  every  one  of  them,  there 
was  nought  in  her  words  or  her  mien  by  which 
they  might  anywise  deem  that  she  would  suffer 
the  toys  of  love  from  them.  Sooth  to  say,  the 
Maiden  had  a  love,  a  fair  youth  and  a  stalwarth, 
and  a  glorious  man,  and  many  were  the  words 


292  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

they  had  spoken  together,  but  never  had  her  hand 
touched  his  hand,  nor  his  Hps  her  lips ;  because 
betwixt  these  two  was  a  river  such  as  are  few  upon 
the  earth,  unbridged,  unfordable,  unferryable.  And 
few  might  think  that  it  was  anywise  like  to  betide 
that  ever  their  two  bodies  should  touch  each  the 
other  ;  but  the  Carline,  who  was  somewhat  wise 
in  lore,  had  an  inkling  that,  despite  this  terrible 
hedge  of  water,  the  twain  should  one  day  meet. 

Now  it  is  to  be  said  that  oftenest  the  Maiden 
was  patient,  and  abode  the  sundering  with  no  ill 
cheer.  But  whiles  her  trouble  was  over-heavy  for 
her,  and  she  would  wander  forth  into  the  wood 
or  the  field,  and  go  weeping  and  lamenting  there ; 
or  she  would  sit  in  the  chamber  with  the  Carline, 
and  cry  out  aloud  on  her  love  to  come  to  her,  and 
on  all  things  on  the  earth  and  in  the  heavens,  yea, 
the  Great  God  himself  sitting  amongst  the  Cheru- 
bim, to  help  her,  that  for  once,  if  once  only  be- 
fore she  died,  she  might  feel  her  love's  arms  about 
her  and  his  face  laid  to  hers. 

Or  again,  she  would,  as  it  were,  tell  stories  of 
how  it  would  betide  that  at  last  they  should  meet, 
both  grown  old,  and  kiss  once,  and  so  walk  hand 
in  hand  into  the  Paradise  of  the  Blessed,  there  to 
grow  young  again  amidst  the  undying  spring,  in 
the  land  where  weariness  is  come  to  nought ;  and 
there  would  she  sit  and  weep,  as  if  there  were  no 
ending  to  the  well  of  her  tears.  At  such  times  was 
the  Carline  sore  grieved  for  her,  and  would  strive 
to  comfort  her  by  giving  her  some  little  inkhng  of 
the  hope  which  she,  the  old  woman,  had  conceived 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  293 

in  her  heart,  that  the  meeting  of  those  two  should 
come  about  whiles  they  were  yet  young  and 
lovely;  more  than  that  she  might  not  tell  the 
Maiden,  lest  the  might  should  ebb  from  her. 
Thus  wore  the  days  between  patience  and  de- 
spair, betwixt  cheer  and  lamentation. 

At  last,  when  the  Maiden  was  of  some  eighteen 
summers,  great  matters  befell  that  country-side ; 
for  on  a  day  came  the  alien  reivers,  such  as  are  called 
the  Red  Skimmers,  with  intent  to  rob  and  carry  off 
all  that  was  not  too  hot  or  too  heavy  for  them,  and 
to  lay  waste  and  destroy  all  that  they  might  not 
bear  away.  But  the  folk  of  the  land  met  them 
valiantly,  and  their  friends  on  the  other  side  of 
the  fierce  river  aforesaid  helped  them  what  they 
might  with  the  shot-battle  ;  and  great  and  grim 
was  the  murder,  and  the  stour  of  the  hardest. 

Now  there  were  the  Maiden  and  the  Carline  at 
their  house,  and  nought  easy  was  the  rede  for 
them.  The  Maiden  bade  flee  to  the  next  stead, 
which  was  some  four  miles  thence,  but  the  Carline 
bade  abide,  lest  they  be  caught  upon  the  way, 
which  forsooth  she  deemed  was  most  like  to  be- 
tide if  they  left  the  house,  and  that  rede  they  took 
at  the  last.  So  they  sat  expecting  what  should 
befall  them. 

For  a  long  while  none  of  the  aliens  came  anear 
them  ;  but  at  last,  when  the  battle  was  at  its  fier- 
cest, rode  up  three  men  leading  two  unbacked 
horses,  and  they  were  of  the  mien  and  in  the  gear 
of  the  Red  Skimmers  ;  and  the  Carline  stood  in 
the  door  to  meet  them,  and  she  spake  to  them 


294  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  said  :  What  will  ye,  warriors  ?  Why  are  ye 
not  in  the  battle  with  your  fellows  ?  Said  one  : 
Because  our  errand  is  here  and  not  there ;  neither 
are  those  men  our  fellows.  We  be  the  servants  of 
that  goodly  merchant  who  guested  here  a  while 
ago,  and  would  have  bought  the  Maiden  within 
there  in  all  honour,  and  ye  rewarded  his  goodwill 
with  scorn  and  mocks  and  japes  and  scurvy  deal- 
ing ;  wherefore  he  hath  set  these  reivers  on  your 
folk,  and  hath  sent  us  along  with  them  to  look  to 
you.  And  two-fold  is  our  errand,  to  bear  away 
the  Maiden  without  a  price,  and  to  slay  thee. 
Hah  !  dost  thou  like  it  ? 

Now  the  Carline  remembered  the  coming  of  the 
said  merchant,  and  how  he  had  cast  his  love  on 
the  Maiden  unhonestly  and  lustfully,  and  would 
have  lain  by  her  against  her  will  had  it  not  been 
for  the  lore  of  the  said  Carline,  who  letted  him 
of  his  evil  will  and  sent  him  away  shamed. 

But  now  she  muttered  something  under  her 
breath,  and  looked  on  those  men,  and  made  signs 
with  her  fingers,  and  then  spake  aloud :  Slay  me 
speedily  then,  whiles  ye  are  about  it ;  for  I  take 
no  great  keep  of  life.  The  men  handled  their 
weapons,  but  nothing  came  of  it,  and  they  sat  in 
their  saddles  staring  on  the  Carline  as  if  they  were 
mazed.  And  even  therewith  ran  the  Maiden 
forth  from  the  house,  and  cast  her  arms  about  the 
Carline,  and  cried  out :  Nay,  nay  !  but  ye  shall 
not  slay  her  !  for  as  my  mother  hath  she  been, 
and  none  other  have  I  had  save  her.  But  as  for 
me,  I  will  go  with  you  without  more  words.     But 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  295 

I  pray  you  by  your  salvation  to  take  this  my 
mother  with  you,  for  I  cannot  do  to  be  without 
her ;  and  if  I  miss  her,  then  shall  I  be  of  little 
use,  miserable  and  forlorn,  to  that  lord  of  yours 
that  ye  tell  of  so  goodly. 

The  old  woman  kissed  her  and  embraced  her, 
and  then  turned  to  those  men  and  laughed  in 
their  faces  ;  and  they  seemed  presently  as  if  awak- 
ing out  of  slumber,  and  one  said :  Well,  this 
may  be  ;  I  see  not  why  we  should  not  slay  thee 
there  as  well  as  here ;  and  since  the  damsel  would 
have  it  so,  we  will  have  thee  along  with  us,  and 
let  the  maiden  settle  it  with  our  lord  whether  he 
will  be  wheedled  by  her  or  not.  But  come,  to 
horse  both  of  you  !  for  time  presses.  So  the  two 
women  were  set  a-horseback,  and  the  men  rode 
with  a  good  pace  out  of  the  Dale  toward  the  fells 
at  the  back  thereof;  and  if  at  any  time  the  women 
thought  of  turning  rein  and  riding  off,  they  had 
but  to  look  on  the  men,  how  they  were  horsed, 
for  their  way-beasts  were  mighty  strong  steeds  of 
good  race,  but  the  women  were  set  on  every-day 
nags,  such  as  be  seen  on  any  highway. 

After  a  while  they  came  on  to  the  broken 
ground  at  the  foot  of  the  fells,  and  all  must  needs 
ride  slower ;  and  then  the  Carline  came  sidling 
up  to  the  Maiden,  and  saw  how  wan  and  woe- 
begone was  her  face,  and  asked  what  ailed  her ; 
and  she  answered  faintly  at  first,  and  then  clearer 
and  louder :  It  is  because  I  am  thinking  of  him 
and  his  woe ;  and  I  wot  well  that  now,  so  soon 
as  the  battle  is  over,  there  shall  he  stand  yet  and 


2q6  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

look  over  the  Flood  on  to  the  field  of  deed,  as 
if  he  were  seeking  after  me  dead  amongst  the 
corpses  of  the  foe.  And  to-morrow  he  shall 
come  down  to  the  water's  edge  while  the  dead 
yet  lie  there,  and  stand  looking  to  see  if  1  be  not 
coming  to  meet  him,  as  now  I  have  been  wont 
so  many  years.  And  the  morrow  of  that  morrow 
will  he  come,  yea,  and  many  a  morrow,  till  his 
heart  shall  be  outworn  with  longing  and  grief, 
and  he  will  go  away  out  of  the  Dale  to  escape 
from  his  sorrow,  and  shall  nowise  escape  it.  Ah, 
and  how  shall  I  know  whither  he  will  wend,  or 
the  place  of  the  shifting  dwelling  of  his  wander- 
ings ?     And  I,  and  I,  I  wend  away  from  him. 

Sore  grieved  was  the  Carline  at  her  grief,  and 
she  said  :  O,  my  child,  I  pray  thee  keep  up  a 
good  heart  within  thee,  lest  thou  die  of  sorrow, 
and  endure  not  the  chances  of  the  meeting. 
Who  knows  whether  thou  be  wending  away  from 
him  ?  Nay,  to  my  mind  thou  art  wending  to- 
ward him,  and  he  to  thee;  for  never  had  ye 
come  together  hadst  thou  abided  in  thine  old 
home  and  he  in   his. 

But  the  Maiden  wept.  But  therewith  rode 
along  by  them  one  of  the  men,  and  smote  the 
Carline  on  the  shoulders  with  his  spear-staff,  and 
bade  her  hold  her  peace,  and  not  go  on  like  a 
crazy  hen.  So  they  rode  their  ways  till  they  had 
passed  the  straiter  part  of  the  pass  that  led 
through  the  fells,  and  there  night  began  to  fall 
on  them  (it  was  April-tide  in  those  days) ;  so  the 
men-at-arms  chose  a  place  where  was  grass  and 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  297 

water  and  three  thick  thorn-bushes,  and  made 
their  harbour  there.  They  took  some  pains  to 
dight  a  shelter  for  the  Maiden  by  spreading 
cloths  betwixt  a  thorn  and  their  spears  stuck  into 
the  ground,  but  to  the  Carline,  as  was  like,  they 
gave  no  heed.  But  she  laid  her  down  peaceably 
within  call  of  her  dear  fosterling,  muttering  as 
her  head  fell  back :  Here  at  any  rate  it  is  over- 
soon  ;  let  us  get  out  of  the  mountains  first.  So 
they  slept,  yea,  even  the  Maiden  amidst  her 
grief,  so  weary  as  she  was.  And  when  morning 
was  they  fared  on,  after  a  short  tarrying  for 
breakfast,  whereof  they  gave  of  the  best  they  had 
to  the  Maiden,  but  nought  at  all  to  the  Carline. 
Nevertheless,  when  her  fosterling  fed  her  kindly 
from  her  abundance  they  naysaid  it  not. 

This  day  is  nought  to  tell  of:  towards  sunset 
they  came  out  of  the  mountains  into  a  very  fair 
green  plain,  wherein  were  neat  and  sheep  a  many  ; 
but  though  there  were  not  a  few  houses  of  the 
herdsmen  about,  they  made  not  for  any  of  them, 
but  took  harbour  in  a  little  copse  by  a  stream- 
side,  and  supped  of  such  meat  as  they  had  ;  save 
that  two  of  them  rode  out  into  the  plain  and 
drove  back  with  them  a  milch-cow,  which  they 
milked  then  and  there  for  the  Maiden's  behoof. 

The  next  day  they  rode  across  the  plain,  and 
here  and  there  fell  in  with  some  of  the  herdsmen 
by  the  way  ;  but  small  greeting  passed  betwixt 
them,  and  the  country-folk  seemed  well  pleased 
that  the  men-at-arms  had  little  to  say  to  them. 
Before  evening  was  they  rode  off  the  plain  and 


298  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

into  a  land  of  little  hills  and  streams,  with  green 
meadows  for  the  most  part,  but  here  and  there  a 
little  tillage,  and  a  good  many  houses,  yet  these 
but  the  cots  of  the  husbandmen.  This  day  they 
rode  long  and  late,  yea,  till  it  had  been  dark 
night  but  for  the  rising  of  the  moon  upon  them. 
At  last  said  one  of  the  men  to  another :  We  shall 
not  do  it  to-night ;  let  us  rest,  and  come  in  fresh 
a-morning-tide.  So  again  that  night  they  had 
the  shelter  of  the  trees  and  the  fields,  but  on  the 
morrow  betimes  they  were  up  and  rode  forward. 


CHAPTER  LIV.  THE  BLUE  KNIGHT 
BUYS  THE  MAIDEN  OF  THE  CHAP- 
MAN. 

THEY  had  ridden  scarce  a  three  hours  ere 
they  came  through  a  cleft  in  the  hills 
which  were  grown  somewhat  higher  and 
straiter,  on  to  a  very  fair  little  valley,  well-grassed, 
and  with  a  stream  of  clear  water  running  through 
it ;  and  amidst  of  the  said  valley  a  fair  white  pa- 
vilion pitched,  but  no  coat-armour  done  thereon. 
Then  quoth  one  of  the  men  to  the  Carline :  Lo, 
dame,  how  likest  thou  the  sight  of  our  master's 
journey-house?  Meseems  in  an  hour's  time  thou 
shalt  be  well  on  thy  journey  to  hell.  The  other 
men  laughed,  but  the  Carline  answered  them 
nought. 

So  down  they  went,  and  as  they  drew  nigher 
they  saw  a  tall  black-bearded  man  standing  before 
the  tent-door,  and  presently  knew  him  for  the 
Chapman  who  had  been  such  an  ill  guest  to  them 
at  their  own  house.  And  the  Maiden  quaked 
and  turned  pale  at  the  sight  of  him.  But  the 
Carline  spake  to  her  under  her  breath  and  said  : 
Fear  not,  we  shall  not  abide  long  with  this  one. 
Now  he  came  forward  to  meet  them  ;  but  when 
he  saw  the  Carline  he  cried  out  wrathfully  to  his 
men  and  said :  Why  have  ye  brought  this  ac- 
cursed hag  with  you  over  all  these  many  miles 
of  way  ?     Now  must  she  be  hewn  down  here. 


300  THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  her  carcass  will  lie  stinking  at  our  door. 
The  men  said  nought,  but  sat  in  their  saddles 
staring  stupidly  at  him.  But  the  Carline  looked 
him  hard  in  the  face,  and  again  made  that  mut- 
tering and  the  passing  of  her  hands  to  and  fro. 
The  Chapman  said  nought  for  awhile,  and  then 
he  spoke  in  a  lower  voice,  wherein  his  pride 
seemed  abated,  and  said :  Well,  after  all,  the 
Damsel  must  needs  have  some  woman  to  wait 
upon  her,  and  this  one  shall  serve  our  turn  for 
the  present.  Ho  ye !  come  and  take  these 
women  off  their  horses,  and  take  them  into  the 
inner  tent  and  give  them  to  eat,  and  then  let 
them  rest.  Then  came  forward  two  serving- 
men,  who  bore  short-swords  by  their  sides,  and 
led  the  Carline  and  the  Maiden  through  the  big 
tent  into  the  lesser  one,  and  there  brought  water 
for  their  hands,  and  then  victual  and  drink,  and 
waited  on  them  with  honour ;  and  the  Carline 
laughed  and  said :  Lo,  my  dear,  here  am  I  an 
honoured  guest  instead  of  a  stinking  corpse. 
Seest  thou,  the  old  woman  is  still  good  for  some- 
thing, and  always  to  serve  thee  and  help  thee, 
my  dear.  Then  the  Maiden  kissed  the  Carline 
and  caressed  her,  not  without  tears,  and  presently, 
being  very  weary  with  the  way  and  the  sorrow, 
laid  her  down  on  the  bed  and  fell  asleep.  But 
the  Carline  sat  watching  heedfully  all  that  went 
on,  setting  her  eye  to  the  defaults  between  the 
cloths  of  the  tent,  so  that  she  could  see  all  that 
was  toward  in  the  big  tent,  and  somewhat  the 
goings-on  without. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  301 

Now  it  must  be  said  the  Chapman,  for  as  eager 
as  had  been  his  lust  after  the  Maiden  when  he 
saw  her  at  her  house,  found  it  somewhat  abated 
when  he  saw  her  lighted  down  from  her  nag  at 
his  tent  door.  Forsooth  she  was  worn  with  the 
travel,  and  yet  more  with  the  overmuch  sorrow, 
so  that  she  looked  wan  and  haggard,  and  he  said 
to  himself  that  of  all  her  beauty  there  was  nought 
but  the  eyes  of  her  left.  But  he  thought :  Let 
her  rest  a  little,  and  be  by  herself  if  she  v/ill,  and 
have  good  and  pleasant  meat  and  drink,  and  not 
be  worried  and  troubled ;  and  I  will  withhold  the 
heat  of  my  longing,  and  then  in  a  day  or  two  it 
will  all  come  back  again.  So  he  bade  his  varlets 
deal  with  her  as  ye  have  heard,  and  suffered  her 
to  have  the  fellowship  of  the  Carline  her  friend. 

After'  this  it  befell  that  about  noon  the  Chap- 
man and  his  men  saw  the  riding  of  folk ;  so  they 
looked  to  their  weapons,  and  presently  came  rid- 
ing up  to  the  tent  a  Knight  in  bright  armour,  and 
two  men-at-arms,  and  all  of  them  right  well 
arrayed.  The  Knight  bore  on  his  coat-armour 
wavy  of  blue  and  white,  and  he  looked  like  to  be 
a  proper  man  of  his  hands. 

Now  when  he  had  drawn  rein  at  the  tent  door, 
and  saw  the  men  standing  to  their  arms  thereby, 
he  seemed  to  be  not  thinking  of  battle  with  them, 
but  he  said :  The  sele  of  the  day  to  the  men. 
Which  of  you  is  the  master  ?  Then  came  for- 
ward the  Chapman,  and  sheathed  his  sword  and 
said:  That  am  I,  Sir  Knight;  and  to  make  a 
long  story  short,  I  am  no  warrior  or  fighting  man. 


302  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

but  a  merchant  seeking  gain  from  town  to  town 
and  house  to  house.  And  I  have  some  pretty 
things  amongst  my  packs.  Might  I  ask  of  your 
valour  what  thou  wouldst  have  of  me  ? 

The  Knight,  who  by  this  time  was  off  his 
horse,  laughed  and  said :  Well,  first  we  three 
would  have  meat  and  drink  of  you,  and  some 
horse-meat  also,  for  we  have  ridden  far  this  morn- 
ing ;  and  next,  meseems,  after  what  thou  hast 
said,  that  it  would  help  the  victual  down  if  I 
were  to  turn  over  some  of  those  dear-bought  and 
far-fetched  wares  of  thine,  even  if  I  have  to  pay 
for  peeping. 

Who  then  was  full  of  smiles  and  soft  words 
save  the  Chapman  ;  he  bade  the  Knight  into  his 
tent  most  sweetly,  and  set  his  folk  to  dighting  a 
noble  dinner.  The  Knight  entered  and  did  off 
his  basnet,  and  showed  a  well-looked  face,  with 
good  grey  eyes  like  a  hawk,  and  dark  hair  curhng 
close  to  his  head ;  there  was  nought  cruel  or  base 
to  be  seen  in  his  visage,  though  it  had  the  fierce- 
ness of  the  warrior.  So  they  sat  down  to  meat, 
and  talked  the  while  of  their  eating ;  and  a  good 
deal  of  their  talk  was  concerning  the  Knight  of 
Longshaw,  Sir  Godrick,  and  his  uprising,  and 
what  his  chances  might  be  of  his  outfacing  all  his 
foes,  who,  said  the  Chapman,  were  many  and 
great,  and  more  belike  than  Sir  Godrick  wotted 
of.  Quoth  he :  And  glad  shall  I  be  if  he  be 
overborne;  for  what  should  a  knight  do,  to  set 
him  up  against  great  and  noble  men,  and  wage  all 
kinds  of  rascaile  on  behoof  of  a  set  of  villeins  and 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  303 

handicraftsmen  !  And  he  looked  on  his  guest  as 
if  he  deemed  he  should  please  him  by  that  word ; 
but  the  other  shook  his  head  and  said :  So  should 
I  not  be  glad ;  for  Sir  Godrick  is  both  fearless 
and  wise,  and  of  good  heart  to  such  as  need  help. 
Yet  I  doubt  me  that  he  will  be  overthrown  at 
last,  such  might  as  is  arrayed  against  him.  For- 
sooth could  he  get  to  him  two  or  three  like  to 
himself,  yea,  or  were  it  only  one,  then  might  he 
endure ;  but  where  shall  he  find  such  an  one  ? 

Quoth  the  Chapman  :  If  ye  bear  the  man  such 
love  and  honour,  mightest  not  thou  thyself  give 
thyself  to  him  and  be  such  an  one  to  him  as  thou 
tellest  of .''  The  Knight  laughed :  Chapman, 
said  he,  of  such  mere  skull-splitters  as  I  be  hath 
he  enough  amongst  his  men-at-arms,  who,  I 
must  tell  thee,  be  nowise  rascaile,  but  valiant  and 
well-ordered  warriors.  What  he  needeth  is  one 
fulfilled  of  the  wisdom  of  war ;  yea,  and  of  peace 
also,  so  as  to  know  when  to  hold  fast  and  when  to 
let  go,  when  to  press  hard  on  the  foe  and  when 
to  cast  the  golden  bridge  before  them.  Of  such 
wisdom  have  I  nought,  and  know  little  but  of 
hard  hitting  and  how  to  keep  the  face  to  the  foe 
in  the  stour.  Moreover,  though  in  a  way  I  wish 
him  good-hap,  yet  is  it  such  good-hap  as  one 
wishes  a  man  who  must  needs  be  a  foe.  For  I 
must  tell  thee  that  I  am  of  the  Barons'  company 
and  against  Sir  Godrick.  Yet  this  I  know,  that 
if  he  fall  at  the  last  it  shall  not  be  till  after  he 
hath  put  us  to  the  worse  more  than  once  or 
twice. 


304  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Herewith  their  talk  turned  else-whither ;  but 
all  this  the  Carline  heard,  and  stored  it  up  in  her 
breast,  and  thought  that  she  might  hereafter  get 
more  tidings  of  Sir  Godrick,  and  belike  piece  one 
thing  to  another  till  she  had  got  somewhat  which 
should  be  to  her  purpose. 

So  when  they  had  done  dinner  the  Chapman 
opened  some  of  his  packs  before  the  Knight,  who 
is  here  called  the  Blue  Knight,  and  the  Knight 
cheapened  here  an  ouch  and  there  a  finger-ring 
or  a  gold  chain,  and  a  piece  of  Saracen  silk,  and 
so  forth ;  and  all  these  he  paid  for  down  on  the 
nail  in  pennies  good  and  true,  for  he  had  with 
him  a  big  pouch  of  money.  Said  he  :  Thou  seest 
I  am  rich  in  spending  silver,  for  I  have  been  paid 
the  ransom  of  three  knights  whom  I  took  in 
sharp  stour  last  autumn. 

,  But  now  as  he  was  sitting  turning  over  his 
fairings,  a  tidings  befell.  For  the  Carline,  having 
well  considered  the  looks  of  the  Knight  and  having 
hearkened  heedfuUy  his  speech,  deemed  that  de- 
liverance might  come  of  him  from  the  sordid 
wretch  who  had  stolen  the  Maiden.  So  while  the 
two  were  yet  at  table  she  roused  her  fosterling, 
and  dight  her  attire  as  seemly  as  she  might,  and 
tired  her  hair  and  made  it  smooth  and  sleek  ;  and 
just  as  the  Blue  Knight  v/as  about  doing  his 
marketings  together,  she  brought  the  Maiden 
to  the  entry  between  the  two  tents  and  bade 
her  stand  there,  and  then  drew  the  hangings 
apart  to  right  and  left  and  let  the  Maiden  stand 
there   as   in  a  picture.     The  Knight  looked  up 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  305 

and  saw  it,  and  stared  astonished,  and  was  word- 
less awhile ;  the  Chapman  scowled,  but  durst 
not  say  aught,  for  he  knew  not  how  the  Knight 
would  take  it ;  and  as  for  the  Knight,  he  leaned 
across  to  the  Chapman  and  spake  to  him  softly, 
not  taking  his  eyes  off  the  Maiden  the  while  : 
Chapman,  wilt  thou  tell  me  what  this  is,  this 
wonder  of  women  ?  whether  is  it  a  queen  of  some 
far  country,  or  an  image  made  by  wizardry  ?  The 
Chapman,  taken  at  unawares,  had  no  lie  handy, 
so  he  said :  This  is  my  war-taken  thrall,  and  she 
hath  been  with  me  but  some  three  hours.  Said 
the  Knight,  still  speaking  softly :  Thy  thrall  ? 
Then  mayst  do  with  her  what  thou  wilt.  Tell  me 
wilt  thou  not  sell  her,  and  to  me  ?  The  Chapman 
was  somewhat  slow  to  answer,  for  he  feared  the 
Knight,  and  durst  not  buy  the  slaking  of  his  lust 
with  the  peril  of  death.  And  moreover  he  deemed 
it  a  thing  to  be  looked  for  that,  if  he  sold  her  not, 
the  bold  Knight  would  take  her  from  him  per- 
force, so  that  he  should  lose  both  wealth  and 
woman.  Again,  it  came  into  his  mind  that  if  he 
sold  her  he  might  yet  take  an  occasion  to  steal 
her  again ;  so  he  said  in  a  surly  voice:  I  took  her 
not  to  sell  her  again,  but  to  keep  her  and  make 
her  one  of  my  household.  Yea,  said  the  Knight, 
and  wilt  thou  bring  her  to  the  church  and  wed 
her  before  the  priest  with  ring  and  book  ?  The 
Chapman  answered  nought,  and  the  Knight  held 
his  peace  awhile  ;  but  presently  he  spake  to  the 
Maiden  kindly,  and  said  :  Sweet  Maiden,  wouldst 
thou  draw  nigher  to  me,  for  I  would  speak  with 

20 


3o6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

thee?  Then  she  left  the  fold  of  the  tent  and 
came  and  stood  before  him  with  no  fear  in  her 
eyes.  Said  the  Blue  Knight :  Tell  me,  fair  damsel, 
is  it  true  what  this  man  says,  that  thou  art  his  war- 
taken  thrall  ?  Said  she  :  Three  days  ago  I  was 
stolen  from  mine  own  home  by  this  man's  servants 
while  the  stout  men  of  my  folk  were  in  battle  with 
a  sort  of  reivers  who  had  fallen  on  our  land. 
How  might  we  defend  us,  two  weak  women 
against   three    weaponed    men  ? 

Wert  thou  thrall  or  free  before  that  day,  damsel  ? 
said  the  Knight.  She  flushed  red,  and  said : 
Never  has  there  been  an  unfree  man  of  our  blood 
for  generation  after  generation.  Said  the  Knight : 
Now  thou  art  here  in  this  man's  tent,  wilt  thou 
go  with  him  freely  and  of  thine  own  will.  If  he 
swear  to  thee  to  take  thee  into  his  household  and 
deal  honestly  by  thee  ?  She  reddened  again  : 
But  he  will  not  deal  honestly  by  me,  lord,  she 
said,  and  never  will  I  go  with  him  uncompelled. 
How  knowest  thou  that  he  is  not  a  true  man? 
said  the  Knight.  Fair  sir,  she  said,  hast  thou 
looked  in  the  face  of  him  ?  Look  now  with  what 
eyes  he  is  beholding  me  ! 

The  Blue  Knight  was  silent  awhile  ;  then  he 
said,  but  halted  in  his  speech :  And  with  me : 
wouldst  thou  go  with  me  of  thine  own  free  will, 
if  I  swore  to  deal  with  thee  in  all  honour  ?  Yea, 
she  said,  or  without  the  swearing  if  thou  make  me 
the  same  offer  after  I  have  said  a  word  to  thee  ; 
to  wit,  that  there  is  a  young  and  goodly  man  whom 
I  love,  and   he  me  again.     And  now  I  have  lost 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  307 

him,  and  know  not  how  to  come  to  him;  but  I 
will  seek  him  the  world  over  till  I  find  him,  and 
he  me.  And  if  I  find  him  not,  then  never  shall 
I  come  into  any  man's  arms  in  this  world.  What 
sayest  thou  now  ?  The  Knight  rose  up  and 
walked  to  and  fro  awhile,  casting  a  look  on  the 
Chapman  every  now  and  then.  At  last  he  came 
to  the  Maiden,  and  said  to  her  in  a  low  voice  :  I 
make  thee  the  same  offer,  and  will  swear  to  thee 
on  my  father's  sword,  which  here  is.  She  looked 
on  him,  and  the  tears  came  into  her  eyes ;  nor 
forsooth  were  they  very  far  from  his.  But  she 
said  :  This  goes  with  it,  that  thou  take  along 
with  thee  my  foster-mother,  who  is  hereby,  and 
suffer  her  to  be  ever  with  me  if  I  will.  That  is 
soon  yeasaid,  quoth  he.  Then  he  set  her  down 
in  his  chair,  and  said  :  Fear  nothing,  I  will  see  to 
this  matter  straightway. 

Then  he  turned  to  the  Chapman,  who  sat 
scowling  on  the  Maiden,  and  said :  Now,  Chap- 
man, wilt  thou  sell  me  thy  thrall  as  thou  hast 
sold  me  those  pretty  things  ?  The  other  an- 
swered him  not  awhile,  and  the  Knight  said  : 
Nay,  it  avails  nought  to  draw  faces  at  me ;  one 
way  or  the  other  the  thing  can  soon  be  settled. 
For  look  to  it,  that  thy  war-taken  thrall  may  be 
mine  by  the  same  title.  There  are  weapons 
enough  hereby,  and  ye  are  five  and  we  three  ; 
and  thou  shalt  arm  thee,  or  I  will  unarm  me  to 
my  kirtle  and  sword,  and  then  let  us  out  on  to 
the  green  and  fight  for  the  Maiden.  The  Chap- 
man said :  I  see  thou  wilt  take  her  perforce ;  so 


3o8  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

give  me  her  price.  But  take  heed  that  I  sell  her 
not  uncompelled.  And  thou  who  hast  eaten  and 
drunk  with  me  !  I  would  I  might  vomit  up  thy 
victuals,  said  the  Knight  angrily  ;  for  then  I  knew 
not  that  it  was  thy  wont  to  carry  off  free  women 
from  their  houses  while  other  folk  were  fighting. 
But  I  will  have  no  more  words  with  thee,  save 
this,  that  thou  shalt  sell  me  also  two  of  thy  nags, 
that  we  may  all  ride  and  be  away  hence  the 
speedier.  Ho,  Robert,  go  thou  and  take  two 
fresh  horses  of  the  Chapman  and  saddle  them 
straightway. 

Now  the  Chapman  named  his  price,  and  it  was 
a  big  one  indeed,  no  less  than  an  earl's  ransom  ; 
but  the  Blue  Knight  but  nodded  his  head  in  token 
of  yeasay,  and  the  Chapman  said :  I  suppose 
thou  wilt  not  have  all  that  gold  in  thy  scrip ; 
but  thou  mayst  take  thy  bargain  away,  for  as 
violently  and  strifefully  as  thou  hast  dealt  with 
me,  if  thou  wilt  send  the  money  in  one  month's 
frist  to  the  hostelry  of  the  Wool-pack  in  the  good 
town  of  West  Cheaping  hard  by  here,  and  let 
thy  bearer  ask  for  Gregory  Haslock  to  give  him 
quittance.  But  for  thine  ill-dealings  with  me  I 
shall  give  thee  no  quittance,  but  shall  watch  my 
turn  to  do  thee  a  service.  The  Knight  said  all 
shortly  :  I  shall  send  thy  money  as  thou  biddest ; 
and  then  turned  away  from  him,  and  took  the 
Maiden  by  the  hand  and  led  her  out  of  the  tent, 
and  the  Carline  followed  them.  So  they  gat  to 
horse  and  rode  their  ways.  But  so  it  was  that 
the  Carline  rode  the  last  of  them  ;  and  when  they 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  309 

were  gone  but  a  few  yards  the  Chapman  ran  to 
the  tent  door  with  a  bent  bow  in  his  hand  and  an 
arrow  notched  to  the  string,  and  drew  on  the  said 
CarHne,  who  was  but  some  ten  yards  from  him 
by  then.  But  whether  it  were  the  Caitiff's  evil 
shooting  or  the  Carhne's  wizardry,  ye  must 
choose  between  the  two,  the  arrow  flew  wide  of 
the  mark,  and  the  CarHne  laughed  merrily  as  she 
rode  along.  Thus  were  those  two  quit  of  this 
felon  for  that  time. 


CHAPTER  LV.  THE  BLUE  KNIGHT 
TALKS  WITH  THE  MAIDEN  BY  THE 
WAY. 

THE  Blue  Knight  rode  beside  the  Maiden, 
and  it  could  be  seen  that  in  all  ways  he 
would  take  care  of  her  and  give  her 
honour  ;  but  he  was  few-spoken  at  first,  nor  for 
a  while  had  she  much  mind  to  speak.  But  after 
a  little  she  looked  on  him  aside,  and  seemed  to 
think  that  he  would  be  fain  were  she  to  cast  a 
word  to  him.  And  she  herself  was  grown  of 
good  cheer  now,  for  she  deemed  herself  delivered 
from  captivity ;  and,  however  it  were,  she  trusted 
in  this  man's  good  faith  and  kindness.  So  she 
asked  him  some  simple  question  about  the  way, 
and  he  started  when  he  heard  her  voice,  but 
turned  and  answered  her  frankly,  and  seemed  as 
if  he  had  liked  it  better  if  he  might  have  made 
more  of  it.  Then  she  said  :  Fair  sir,  thou  hast 
not  yet  told  me  whither  we  be  going.  Nay,  he 
said,  that  is  true,  and  heedless  it  was  of  me,  and 
I  pray  thee  pardon  me.  We  be  boun  for  the 
Castle  of  Brookside,  which  is  my  chiefest  manor 
house,  though  no  great  things.  But  we  shall  not 
be  there  to-night,  nor  for  many  nights.  Now  if 
thou  ask  me  what  we  shall  find  there,  I  shall  tell 
thee  that  beside  the  serving-men  and  a  few  men- 
at-arms  and  sergeants,  and  three  squires,  thou 
shalt  find  little  save  my  mother  there,  for  I  am 
unwedded  as  yet. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  311 

At  that  word  the  Maiden  fell  silent  again,  for 
she  was  wondering  what  like  would  be  the 
Knight's  mother,  and  what  days  she  was  like  to 
make  for  her.  But  presently  she  set  that  all  aside, 
and  fell  to  ask  the  Knight  of  other  matters,  such 
as  the  fashion  of  the  country-side  and  the  ways 
of  the  folk  round  about  his  castle,  and  freely  he 
answered  to  everything  ;  and  so  at  last  began  to 
ask  her  concerning  her  land  and  folk,  and  her 
way  of  life,  and  she  told  him  of  all  freely.  But  no 
word  did  she  say  to  him  of  the  man  whom  she 
loved  ;  nay,  when  the  talk  seemed  drawing  near  to 
such  a  point  that  it  seemed  he  must  be  told  of 
presently,  she  would  break  off  and  hold  her  peace 
straightway  ;  neither  did  the  Knight  say  aught, 
nor  ask  her  wherefore  she  went  not  on  with  her 
tale,  but  let  speech  be  till  the  spring  thereof 
began  to  run   again  of  its  own  will. 

Thus  then  they  wore  the  day,  riding  through 
a  fair  country  of  husbandry,  not  very  thickly 
housed.  None  meddled  with  them,  till  at  sun- 
set they  came  to  a  goodly  grange  walled  and 
moated ;  and  the  Blue  Knight  said  :  If  we  take 
not  harbour  here  we  shall  have  to  lie  out  in 
the  field,  for  we  shall  fall  in  with  no  other  house 
till  the  night  is  well  deep.  Therewith  he  rode  up 
to  the  door  and  lighted  down,  and  so  did  they  all ; 
and  there  came  forth  a  tall  and  somewhat  goodly 
man  of  some  fifty  winters  and  bade  Welcome, 
Sir  Mark.  And  without  more  ado  they  entered 
the  hall,  which  was  fair  big  and  well-plenished. 
There  presently  they   were  feasted  by  the  good- 


312  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

man  and  his  sons  and  his  folk,  for  Sir  Mark  the 
Blue  Knight  was  well  known  to  the  said  goodman. 
In  due  time  withal  the  Maiden  was  shown  to  a 
fair  chamber  well  hung  and  with  a  good  bed  therein, 
wherein  she  slept  sweet  without  dreams.  So  was 
the  ending  of  that  day  better  than  the'  beginning. 
They  took  to  their  road  betimes  on  the  morrow, 
and  two  of  the  goodman's  sons  and  three  of  his 
men  rode  with  them,  well  armed ;  for  though  this 
was  a  peopled  part,  yet  whiles  reivers  rode  therein. 
But  on  the  way  the  Blue  Knight  excused  him  to 
the  Maiden  for  suffering  this  eking  of  his  army, 
and  he  said  :  Seest  thou,  lady,  were  I  with  my 
two  lads  here,  or  even  were  I  riding  birdalone,  I 
would  have  bidden  these  five  good  fellows  abide  at 
home  ;  but  I  fear  for  thee,  lest  the  fewness  of  our 
company  should  draw  on  this  rascaile  to  come 
within  smiting  distance,  and  then  who  knows 
what  might  betide  ?  for  a  chance  stroke  might  do 
all  the  scathe  at  once,  and  make  me  an  unhappy 
man  till  the  end  of  my  days. 

She  smiled  on  him  friendly  and  said :  Sir 
Knight,  there  is  no  need  to  excuse  thee  ;  trust  me 
I  am  nowise  greedy  of  battle,  and  thank  thee 
heartily  for  thinking  of  me.  The  Knight  made 
as  if  he  would  have  said  something  which  would 
not  come  forth  of  his  mouth,  and  he  turned  very 
red,  and  so  rode,  but  presently  drew  rein,  and 
bade  the  others  ride  on  and  he  would  catch  up 
with  them.  So  they  went  on,  and  the  Maiden 
would  have  ridden  on  also,  but  he  said :  I 
beseech  thee  to  abide  with  me,  for  I  have  a  word 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  313 

or  two  to  say  to  thee  before  we  get  on  with  this 
day's  journey.  She  looked  on  him  wonderingly, 
and  was  somewhat  abashed,  but  turned  to  hearken 
to  him ;  and  he  said,  not  speaking  very  gHbly  : 
Thou  thankest  me  for  thinking  of  thee,  but 
meseems  I  have  nowise  thought  of  thee  enough. 
I  have  told  thee  that  we  be  riding  to  my  house 
of  Brookside,  but  now  I  will  ask  thee  if  thou 
hast  will  to  go  thither  ?  Why  not  ?  she  said  ;  I 
deem  not  by  thy  looks  and  thy  speech  that  thou 
wilt  be  hard  or  cruel  with  me,  or  do  me  wrong 
in  any  wise,  or  suffer  others  so  to  do.  Nay,  by 
AUhallows,  said  he ;  but  this  I  ask.  Tell  me 
right  out  if  thou  hast  any  will  to  go  back  to  thine 
old  home  in  the  Dale.  I  beseech  thee  to  tell  me 
thy  mind  hereon  ;  and  if  thou  longest  to  go  back, 
then  will  we  turn  bridle  at  once  and  seek  to  the 
stead  where  thou  wert  born  and  bred,  and  there 
will  I  say  farewell  to  thee.  For  what !  it  may 
not  be  for  ever  ;  I  shall  ride  to  see  thee  once  and 
again,  I  promise  thee. 

Now  the  Maiden  flushed  red  and  the  tears 
gathered  in  her  eyes,  and  she  looked  piteous  kind 
on  him  ;  but  she  said  :  Thou  art  kind  indeed ; 
but  that  farewell  in  the  Dale  needeth  not  to  be, 
for  I  have  no  will  to  go  back  home.  Such  an 
errand  is  laid  on  me  that  hath  made  me  homeless 
now ;  for  I  must  go  seeking  that  which  is  lost, 
it  may  be,  wide  over  the  world  ;  and  if  thou  wilt 
shelter  me  awhile  in  Brookside  Castle  I  shall 
thank  thee  and  bless  thee  as  scarce  a  man  hath 
yet  been  thanked  since  earth  was  new. 


314  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

The  Knight  hung  down  his  head,  but  presently 
he  raised  it,  and  heaved  a  sigh  as  if  a  weight  were 
lifted  from  his  heart,  and  he  said:  Let  each  of  us 
take  what  content  may  be  in  the  passing  days. 
Then  he  shook  his  rein,  and  they  both  sped  on 
together  till  they  caught  up  with  their  company. 

That  night  they  harboured  at  a  husbandman's 
cot,  where  was  no  room  save  for  the  two  women, 
and  the  men  lay  out  under  the  bare  heaven,  but 
all  was  done  that  might  be  for  the  easement  of 
the  Maiden.  The  franklin's  folk  rode  on  with 
them  on  the  morrow,  and  whereas  they  must 
needs  wend  a  somewhat  thick  wood  the  more  part 
of  the  day,  they  rode  close,  and  had  the  Maiden 
in  their  midst,  while  the  Blue  Knight  went  the 
foremost  of  their  company,  and  was  as  wary  as 
might  be.  So  whatever  strong-thieves  might  have 
been  lurking  under  cover  of  the  thicket,  they 
adventured  them  not  against  so  stout  and  well- 
ordered  a  company,  and  they  all  came  safely 
through  the  wood  into  a  fair  grassy  valley  some 
little  time  before  sunset.  But  though  the  pasture 
was  good  there  and  the  land  well  watered,  there 
were  no  houses  within  sight,  for  it  was  over-nigh 
to  the  wood  for  folk  to  venture  their  goods,  yea 
and  their  lives,  by  dwelling  in  neighbourhood  to 
such  ill  men  as  haunted  the  thickets  of  the  forest. 
Wherefore  this  night  all  the  company,  women 
as  well  as  men,  must  needs  forego  lying  under 
rafters ;  albeit  they  dight  some  kind  of  a  tent 
with  what  cloths  they  had  for  the  Maiden  and 
her  fosterer.      The  fourth  day,  as  they  rode  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  315 

fair  grassy  valley,  as  it  was  noon,  they  saw  some- 
what aloof  the  riding  of  another  company,  which 
they  deemed  to  be  more  than  they.  So  they 
looked  to  their  weapons  and  rode  on  steadily,  but 
without  haste,  lest  the  others  might  deem  they 
were  fleeing  them.  So  the  others,  when  they  had 
well  espied  their  demeanour,  passed  on  without 
meddling  with  them.  Well-nigh  the  whole  valley 
could  be  ridden,  so  there  was  nought  to  drive 
them  to  meet  side  by  side  in  a  strait  road,  where- 
fore they  came  not  very  nigh,  but  yet  nigh  enough 
to  know  the  newcomers  for  such  as  would  be  evil 
way-fellows  to  any  whom  they  feared  not.  As  it 
was,  the  Blue  Knight  and  his  drew  rein  and  turned 
a  little  toward  them  as  they  went  by,  to  show  that 
they  feared  them  not,  and  Sir  Mark  rode  forward 
before  his  folk  and  abode  them  with  sword  in 
fist.  But  the  newcomers  did  nought  but  set  up  a 
yelling  and  jeering,  and  rode  on  their  way  not 
over  slowly.  Three  hours  thereafter  they  saw,  a 
little  mile  aloof,  a  fair  white  house  garnished  with 
towers  on  a  knoll,  round  about  which  ran  a  little 
river;  so  the  Maiden,  who  was  now  again  riding 
close  beside  the  Blue  Knight,  asked  him  if  that 
were  Brookside,  and  he  smiled  and  said  :  Nay,  my 
house  is  still  five  days'  ride  away,  but  this  house, 
which  hight  Warding  Knowe,  is  the  house  of  a 
friend,  and  there  shall  we  have  good  guesting, 
whereof  I  rejoice  for  thy  sake.  Then  he  was 
silent  awhile,  and  said  thereafter  :  Tell  me,  lady, 
dost  thou  wish  those  five  days  over  ?  Nay,  she 
said,  it  is  little  matter  to  me  where  I  am  ;  and  to 


31 6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

say  sooth,  this  riding  through  the  fair  land  likes 
me  well.  He  sighed  and  said,  yet  slowly  :  Well, 
for  my  part  I  would  that  the  five  days  were  fifty. 
Why  ?  she  said  heedlessly.  He  reddened  and 
said  :  I  must  needs  tell  thee  since  thou  askest  me. 
It  is  because  I  have  got  used  to  seeing  these  men 
and  thy  Carline  about  thee ;  neither  does  it  irk 
me  to  see  the  folk  that  give  us  guesting  gazing 
on  thee  or  speaking  to  thee.  But  when  we 
come  to  Brookside  it  will  be  all  other  than  that ; 
for  there  will  be  the  folk  all  about,  and  some 
belike  will  make  friends  with  thee  ;  and  there 
will  be  my  mother.  And  look  you,  all  and  each 
of  these  folk  shall  have  as  much  part  and  lot  in 
thee  as  I  shall  have.  Now,  art  thou  angry  that 
I  have  said  this  ?  Nay,  she  said,  and  knew  not 
what  more  to  say.  And  she  looked  at  him  cov- 
ertly and  saw  grief  and  torment  in  him,  and  she 
was  sorry  for  him.  But  within  herself  she  said: 
Woe  's  me  !  and  how  long  it  shall  be  belike  ere  I 
meet  my  beloved ! 


CHAPTER   LVI.     THEY   COME   TO 
BROOKSIDE. 

THEY  were  not  long  ere  they  were  before 
the  gate  of  Warding  Knowe,  and  the 
master  thereof  standing  over  against  them, 
bidding  them  a  free  and  fair  welcome.  He  was 
well  on  in  years,  more  than  grizzled,  but  a  stout 
and  stark  knight :  he  hight  Sir  Alwyn.  He  em- 
braced Sir  Mark  as  he  got  off  his  horse,  for  they 
were  dear  friends,  and  then  looked  keenly  on  the 
Maiden,  and  took  her  by  the  hand  and  led  her 
in  and  treated  her  with  all  honour.  Thereafter, 
before  supper,  while  she  was  under  the  hands  of 
the  tire-women,  the  said  lord  took  occasion  to  ask 
the  Blue  Knight  if  he  had  done  well,  so  doing,  or 
whether  he  should  have  given  her  less  honour ; 
and  the  Blue  Knight  said  that  he  had  done  right 
well,  and  that  he  thanked  him  for  it,  for  of  all 
honour  was   she   worthy. 

Now  the  Maiden  sat  at  table  beside  the  lord 
and  Sir  Mark,  and  hearkened  their  talk,  which  at 
one  time  ran  much  upon  that  great  captain  of  war 
whom  they  called  Sir  Godrick  of  Longshaw. 
And  she  might  see  of  both  of  them  that  they 
thought  much  of  his  wisdom,  and  not  little  of  his 
luck,  and  feared  him  what  he  would  do  to  them 
of  the  Barons'  League,  whereof  were  both  those 
knights.  And  Sir  Alwyn  furthermore  told  the 
Blue  Knight  concerning  tidings  in  the  City  of 
the  Sundering    Flood,  and    said   that   the  King 


3l8  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

thereof  was  of  little  account  before  such  a  man  as 
was  Sir  Godrick,  for  though  he  were  well  enough  , 
in  a  fray,  if  the  sword  were  put  into  his  hand  and 
the  horse  were  between  his  knees,  yet  was  he 
feather-headed,  stubborn  in  wrong,  and  hard- 
hearted. Said  Sir  Alwyn,  that  save  the  said 
King  was  in  all  things  according  with  the  best 
men  of  the  City,  as  the  Porte  and  the  Masters  of 
the  Great  Crafts,  he  was  undone.  Then  he  said 
again  :  Yea,  and  there  is  talk  also  how  that  the 
Small  Crafts  have  in  their  hearts  to  rise  against 
both  Porte  and  King,  and  certes  if  they  may  have 
Sir  Godrick  on  their  side,  which  is  not  wholly  un- 
like, they  will  perchance  come  to  their  above ; 
and  then  again  is  the  King's  cake  but  dough. 
Said  Sir  Mark,  and  smiled  withal  :  One  thing  we 
have  to  our  comfort,  that  there  may  not  lightly 
be  found  two  Sir  Godricks,  and  though  his  men 
be  fell  fighters,  there  where  he  is  only  shall  his 
luck  prevail  to  the  full.  Yea,  said  the  houselord  ; 
but  I  can  see  in  the  eye  of  my  mind  another  well- 
nigh  as  good  as  he,  if  he  might  but  hit  upon  him. 
Yea  and  one  who  should  be  even  better  than  his 
double,  filling  up  what  little  lacks  there  may  be 
in  him  ;  one  who  should  cheer  the  heart  of  his 
host  as  much  even  as  the  captain,  and  yet  should 
be  liker  to  the  men  themselves,  and  a  part  of 
them  in  all  wise. 

Said  Sir  Mark  :  Even  so  much  as  this  I  said  a 
day  or  two  ago.  Yet  scarce  is  such  an  one  found 
by  seeking.  Sooth  is  that,  said  Sir  Alwyn,  but 
such-like  haps  drift  toward  the  lucky. 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  319 

So  the  talk  thereof  dropped  down  in  a  while  ; 
but  the  Carline,  who  had  been  shown  to  a  good 
seat  not  far  off,  heard  all  this,  and  said  to  herself: 
I  wonder  if  this  old  knight  is  somewhat  wise  of 
foresight,  for  surely  along  the  same  road  bendeth 
my  mind.  And  afterwards,  the  next  morning, 
when  as  it  happed  the  Carline  was  standing  close 
to  the  lord,  and  they  two  alone,  she  said  to  him  : 
Lord,  might  an  old  and  feeble  woman  ask  of  thy 
wisdom  without  rebuke  if  thou  hast  any  inkling 
of  what  thine  end  shall  be  ?  He  looked  hard  on 
her  and  said :  Dame,  I  note  of  thee  that  thou 
hast  some  foresight  of  things  to  come,  and  thou 
art  old  as  I  am,  therefore  to  thee  will  I  tell  it,  as 
I  would  to  none  other,  that  I  shall  fall  in  battle, 
and  in  that  said  battle  our  backs  shall  be  turned 
toward  the  foe  and  our  faces  toward  the  world 
beyond ;  and  this  shall  be  ere  the  earth  is  eigh- 
teen months  older.  So  she  thanked  him,  and 
they  parted. 

But  as  for  the  Maiden,  she  also  had  hearkened 
heedfully  to  the  talk  of  the  two  knights,  and 
something  went  to  her  heart  as  they  talked  about 
a  meet  fellow  for  this  great  captain,  and  she  said 
to  herself:  Ah  !  and  where  shall  such  a  man  be 
on  the  earth,  if  it  be  not  he  whom  no  man  friendly 
may  see  without  his  heart  being  drawn  to  him  ? 
whom  no  foe  may  see  without  casting  aside  hope 
of  victory  ?  the  wise  one,  while  yet  a  boy,  of  the 
war  of  East  Cheaping,  the  frank  and  the  fair,  and 
mine  own  love  who  is  seeking  me  ? 

When  the  morning  was  they  departed  with  all 


320  THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD 

good  Vv'ishes  from  Warding  Knowe,  and  the 
franklin's  men  turned  back  home;  for  Sir  Alwyn's 
stronghold  was  as  a  bar  against  the  strong-thieves 
of  the  forest  and  thereabout.  But  the  others 
went  forward  toward  Brookside :  nor  is  there 
much  to  tell  of  their  journey ;  for  the  most  part 
they  guested  at  the  houses  of  the  husbandmen, 
or  whiles  at  a  franklin's  or  yeoman's  house,  and 
none  begrudged  them  the  harbour  and  victual ; 
but  the  poor  folk  Sir  Mark  paid  largely  therefor. 
At  last,  on  the  ninth  day  as  it  grew  toward  dusk, 
and  they  had  been  riding  a  land  of  little  hills, 
with  some  deal  of  woodland  betwixt  the  meadows 
so  that  they  might  see  no  great  way  ahead,  they 
saw  but  a  half  mile  aloof  a  hill  nowise  high,  and 
before  it  a  little  river  bridged  with  a  goodly 
stone  bridge  ;  and  on  the  said  hill  was  a  long 
house,  defensible  by  reason  of  its  towers  and 
walls,  yet  no  mere  stronghold,  but  a  goodly 
dwelling.  Then  Sir  Mark  raised  his  hand 
and  pointed  to  it,  and  said  to  the  Maiden : 
Lady,  yonder  is  Brookside,  my  poor  house, 
where  I  would  have  thee  dwell  so  long  as  it 
pleases  thee.  Then  he  drew  forth  his  horn  and 
said :  We  will  sing  a  little  to  them,  for  it  will  be 
in  their  minds  to  ride  out  some  of  them  to  meet 
us,  and  I  would  not  balk  their  good  will.  There- 
with he  set  his  horn  to  his  mouth  and  blew  a  long 
and  loud  blast,  wherein  were  strange  changes  and 
quirks,  so  that  it  might  be  known  for  his  music ; 
and  then  they  rode  on  slowly,  and  presently  a 
banner  of  the   blue  and  white   waves   came   out 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  321 

from  a  high  tower,  and  therewithal  from  out  the 
Castle-gate  came  forth  a  score  of  folk  a-horse- 
back  and  rode  swiftly  down  to  the  bridge.  Then 
Sir  Mark  said  :  Now  light  we  down  and  meet 
the  rest  on  this  pleasant  greensward,  for  they  will 
like  it  better  to  come  on  us  thus,  so  that  they 
may  have  the  better  and  the  higher  sight  of  us ; 
and  though  there  be  little  shade  of  trees  here,  yet 
this  cool  hour  before  the  twilight  all  green  places 
be  pleasant  this  fair  day.  Even  as  he  bade  so 
did  they,  and  it  was  anigh  to  the  bridge,  so  that 
it  was  but  a  few  minutes  ere  that  folk  were  riding 
over  toward  them,  and  the  Maiden  could  see  at 
once  of  them  that  they  were  merry-faced  and  gay- 
clad.  The  two  that  rode  first  were  young  men, 
and  one  slim  and  very  goodly,  with  the  hair  of 
his  head  plenteous  and  waving  and  brown,  and 
little  hair  upon  his  pleasant,  happy  young  face. 
He  threw  himself  off  his  horse  at  once  and  ran 
straight  up  to  the  Blue  Knight,  and  made  obei- 
sance to  him,  and  took  his  hand  and  kissed  it ; 
but  the  Knight  laid  his  hands  on  to  his  shoulders 
and  shook  him  and  rolled  him  about,  looking 
kindly  in  his  face  the  while,  and  then  he  cried 
out :  Ha,  Roland !  by  St.  Christopher,  but  thou 
art  glad  to  see  me,  lad  !  Is  all  well  up  there  ? 
All  is  well.  Sir  Mark,  said  the  youngling,  and  I 
am  like  to  be  glad  to  see  thee  back  safe  and 
sound,  when  who  knows  what  folly  thou  wilt 
have  been  mixed  up  with,  so  that  thou  mayst  well 
be  brought  home  any  day  between  the  four  cor- 
ners :  and  all  is  well    up   yonder.      Hark  to  the 

21 


322  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

prudence  of  the  sage  and  the  grey-beard,  said  Sir 
Mark,  laughing.  Yet  I  must  tell  thee,  and  all  of 
you,  that  I  have  had  an  adventure.  But  here  is 
James  and  his  greeting.  Now  this  was  the  other 
young  man,  who  got  off  his  horse  in  less  haste 
and  came  up  slower  to  his  lord,  and  as  he  went 
cast  an  eye  on  the  Maiden,  who  had  risen  up  to 
meet  the  newcomers  and  was  standing  there  sim- 
ply and  somewhat  shyly ;  and  as  the  young  man 
beheld  her  he  blushed  red  and  cast  his  eyes  down. 
He  was  not  so  fair  a  youth  as  the  other,  tall  and 
stark,  red-haired,  the  hair  cut  short  to  his  head, 
yet  no  ill-looked  man  neither,  grey-eyed  and  firm- 
lipped.  The  Knight  took  him  kindly  by  the 
hands  and  greeted  him,  and  then  he  turned  to  the 
Maiden  and  took  each  of  the  young  men  by  a 
hand  and  led  them  before  her,  and  said  :  Fair  lady, 
these  two,  who  will  ere  long  be  knights,  are  my 
squires-of-arms,  who  love  me  wholly  and  are  good 
men  and  true,  and  perilous  in  the  stour  to  them 
that  love  me  not.  Now  I  pray  thee  be  as  kind 
to  them  as  thou  wilt,  yet  as  I  am,  to  wit,  ruling 
them  well,  and  making  them  run  and  return  for 
thee,  and  giving  them  but  little  of  their  will. 
And  he  laughed  therewith. 

So  James  knelt  down  before  her,  and  would 
have  kissed  her  hand  but  she  reached  it  not  to 
him.  But  if  James  were  abashed  when  he  first 
cast  eyes  on  her,  how  was  it  now  with  Roland  ?  He 
turned  red  Indeed,  and  made  no  obeisance  to  her, 
but  stood  staring  at  her  with  all  his  eyes. 

But  the  other  folk  gathered  round  them  to  get 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  32^ 

the  Blue  Knight's  greeting,  and  also,  sooth  to 
say,  to  gaze  upon  the  Maiden.  And  when  the 
Knight  had  taken  the  welcome  of  them  with 
many  kind  words,  he  said  in  a  loud  voice  so  that 
all  could  hear  :  Squires  and  sergeants  and  men-at- 
arms,  this  is  the  adventure  that  I  have  had,  that 
I  came  upon  this  lady  in  the  hands  of  a  caitiff 
who  had  set  his  men  to  steal  her  while  others 
held  her  kinsmen  and  folk  in  battle,  and  now 
called  her  his  war-taken  thrall.  And  whereas  he 
was  a  craven  and  would  not  fight  for  her,  I  must 
needs  buy  her  of  him,  though  I  bade  him  battle 
in  all  honour ;  and  fain  am  I  that  he  took  it  not, 
for  the  slaying  of  such  dogs  is  but  dirty  work. 
But  hearken,  though  I  have  bought  this  lady  at  a 
price,  it  was  to  make  her  her  own  and  not  mine, 
and  of  her  own  will  has  she  come  hither  to  my 
house.  But  I  think  on  the  way  thither  she  has 
become  somewhat  my  friend  in  all  kindness  and 
honour,  and  I  deem  that  to  you  also  she  will  be 
a  friend  while  she  dwells  with  us,  and  if  ye  be 
less  than  friendly  with  her,  then  are  ye  hewn  out 
of  far  other  wood  than  I  be.  But  all  this  I  have 
told  you  that  there  may  be  no  slander  or  backbit- 
ing, or  deeming  of  evil  whereas  none  is;  yea,  and 
no  deeming  of  guile  or  mystery  in  the  tale,  but 
all  may  be  plain  and  outspoken.  They  gave 
forth  a  murmur  of  yeasay  and  welcome  when  he 
had  done,  and  the  Maiden  deemed  that  they 
looked  as  if  they  loved  and  trusted  the  Knight. 
But  therewith  one  and  all  of  them  came  before 
her  and  knelt  to  her  and  did  her  obeisance,  and 


324  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

she  looked  full  kindly  on  them,  for  she  deemed 
all  this  good  and  happy.  And  yet  she  said  to 
herself:  If  it  could  be  that  I  could  forget  him  or 
the  search  for  him,  how  should  I  one  day  awaken 
when  all  was  lost  and  curse  myself!  But  she 
heard  the  Blue  Knight  say  :  James  and  Roland, 
I  would  have  you  prevent  us  and  go  up  to  the 
Castle,  and  go  to  my  Lady-mother  in  her  cham- 
ber and  tell  her  hereof,  how  I  have  come  home, 
and  all  that  ye  have  seen  and  heard.  But  the 
Maiden  wondered  somewhat,  for  looking  now  on 
Sir  Mark  she  saw  that  his  face  had  reddened 
and  his  brows  were  knit. 

But  the  two  squires  got  to  their  horses  and  rode 
briskly  up  to  the  Castle  as  silent  as  might  be,  and 
all  the  others  followed  at  a  foot's  pace. 

Now  they  were  soon  under  the  gate  of  the 
Castle,  and  came  into  the  forecourt,  and  the  build- 
ings round  about  it  were  goodly  and  great,  but 
not  very  new.  There  were  a  many  weaponed 
men  in  the  said  court,  all  come  together  to  wel- 
come their  lord  and  his  fellowship,  and  they  clat- 
tered their  spears  on  their  shields,  and  tossed  their 
swords  aloft  and  shouted,  so  that  the  Maiden's  eyes 
glittered  and  her  heart  beat  quick. 

But  when  they  were  off  their  horses,  straight- 
way Sir  Mark  took  the  Maiden  by  the  hand  and 
led  her  into  the  great  hall,  and  all  that  folk  fol- 
lowed flock-meal.  Long  was  the  said  hall  and 
great,  but  not  very  high,  and  its  pillars  thick  and 
big,  and  its  arches  beetling;  and  that  the  folk 
loved  better  than    flower-fair  building,   for  very 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  ^2^ 

ancient  it  was  and  of  all  honour.  Ancient  withal 
were  its  adornments,  and  its  hailing  was  of  the 
story  of  Troy,  and  stern  and  solemn  looked  out 
from  it  the  stark  woven  warriors  and  kings  as 
they  wended  betwixt  sword  and  shield  on  the 
highway  of  Fate. 


CHAPTER  LVII.  THE  MAIDEN 
HEARS  TIDINGS  OF  A  YOUNG 
CHAMPION    AT    LONGSHAW 

NOW  the  Knight  led  the  Maiden  up  to 
the  dais,  and  thereon  were  squires  and 
priests  and  ladies ;  for  Sir  Mark's  mother 
was  there,  sitting  on  a  very  goodly  chair  beside 
his  seat  of  honour,  and  when  those  two  came  on 
to  the  dais  the  said  lady  stood  up  to  meet  them, 
and  put  her  arms  about  the  knight's  neck  and 
kissed  him.  Then  she  turned  to  the  Maiden  and 
said :  Thou  also  art  welcome,  and  thy  follower 
the  old  woman,  since  my  son  hath  bidden  you  to 
the  house  which  is  his  own.  But  look  to  it  that 
thou  be  obedient  to  him,  and  take  more  heed  of 
his  honour  and  his  welfare  than  thine  own  wel- 
fare ;  then  shall  I  give  thee  what  honour  thou  art 
worthy  of,  and  thou  shalt  find  in  me  a  well-wilier. 
So  the  Maiden  knelt  before  her  and  kissed  her 
hand,  but  the  lady  looked  no  more  on  her,  but  on 
her  son.  She  was  a  tall  and  goodly  woman  of 
some  five  and  fifty  winters  ;  hawk-nosed  and 
hawk-eyed,  dark-haired,  and  her  hair  waved  as  the 
coat-armour  of  the  house.  She  spoke  in  no  very 
soft  or  kind  voice,  not  even  to  her  son,  and  the 
Maiden  had  feared  her  that  while  had  it  not  been 
that  even  therewith  her  heart  turned  toward  the 
man   she  loved   and  whom   she  sought,  and  all 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  327 

these  that  were  round  about  her,  even  the  valiant 
and  generous  Knight,  had  become  for  the  time  to 
her  but  images  that  had  no  part  in  her  life. 

But  now  the  tire-women  came  to  her  and  led 
her  into  a  chamber  apart,  and  bathed  her  and  clad 
her  in  fair  raiment  and  led  her  back  into  the  hall, 
for  so  had  the  Blue  Knight  commanded. 

As  for  the  Carline,  she  was  shown  to  a  good 
place,  and  sat  there  heedfully,  and  had  ears  for 
everything  that  was  said  and  eyes  for  all  that  was 
done.  And  she  said  to  herself  that  they  should 
not  abide  there  very  long  ere  she  would  find  out 
something  of  the  way  her  bird  must  follow  if  she 
were  to  have  a  happy  life  thenceforth. 

But  the  next  morning  the  Lady-mother  took 
her  son  into  a  window  of  the  hall  and  fell  to  talk- 
ing with  him.  And  the  Carline  was  not  far  off, 
and  heard  a  good  part  of  all  that  they  said ;  for 
she  was  fine-eared,  and  had  brought  lore  to  bear 
upon  the  hearkening. 

Now  spake  the  Lady  :  Well,  son,  so  thou 
hast  brought  home  a  woman  of  the  husbandmen, 
a  churl's  daughter,  to  dwell  with  us.  What  wilt 
thou  do  with  her  ?  Wilt  thou  wed  her  with  priest 
and  ring .?  Nay,  mother,  said  Sir  Mark ;  but 
thou  needest  not  call  her  of  churl's  blood.  I  wot 
of  these  folk  of  the  dales  under  the  mountains, 
that  they  are  both  proud  and  warrior-like,  as  if 
they  were  earls'  kindred.  Is  it  so .''  said  the 
Lady.  But  she  is  neither  of  the  baronage  nor 
the  knighthood.  I  say,  wilt  thou  wed  her?  I 
shall  not,  said  Sir  Mark,  reddening  and  knitting 


328  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

his  brows.  What  wilt  thou  do  with  her  then  ? 
said  the  Lady.  Said  he  :  She  shall  abide  here  in 
all  honour  and  kindness  so  long  as  she  will. 
Even  such  shall  she  have  from  me  then,  said  the 
Lady,  since  it  is  thy  will,  so  long  as  thy  will  is 
steadfast  herein ;  but  when  it  changes,  then  must 
we  seek  other  rede.  So  the  talk  between  them 
dropped  for  that  time. 

Here  then  began  new  days  for  the  Maiden, 
nor  is  it  to  be  said  that  there  was  aught  evil  in 
them,  save  the  abiding  on  hope  deferred ;  for 
there  was  none  in  the  house  that  looked  not 
kindly  on  this  lovely  one,  save  it  were  the  Lady, 
the  mother  of  Sir  Mark.  But  then,  to  say  sooth, 
she  looked  not  kindly  on  any,  scarce  even  on  her 
son,  though  in  her  heart  she  loved  him  strongly. 
And  no  wrong  she  did  to  the  Maiden,  or  put 
any  tasks  upon  her,  nor  said  nor  did"  aught  cov- 
ertly to  make  her  heart  bleed,  as  belike  she  might 
have  done  had  she  willed  it.  The  two  young 
squires,  Roland  and  James,  did  all  they  might  to 
be  with  her  and  have  speech  of  her,  and  she  suf- 
fered them  frankly,  seeing  no  harm  therein.  For 
to  her  they  were  but  bright  and  fair  youths  whose 
lives  had  nought  to  do  with  hers,  but  who  should 
find  friends  and  loves  and  deeds  with  other  folk 
whom  she  had  never  heard  of,  and  in  lands  far 
away  from  the  grey  dale  where  she  was  born  and 
bred. 

As  to  Sir  Mark,  it  was  somewhat  different,  for 
such  thanks  she  owed  him  for  her  deliverance  and 
for  his  kindness  that  never  wore  thin,  and  for  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  329 

faithful  love  that  looked  for  no  reward,  nay  not 
even  for  pity  of  the  love,  for  ever  he  bore  him 
frank  and  merry,  and  had  such  kind  good-will  to 
all  folk  worthy  who  were  about  him,  that  none 
had  deemed  of  him  but  that  he  was  heart-whole, 
and  bore  about  no  pain  that  fretted  his  life.  So 
much  she  owed  him,  I  say,  yea  and  was  glad  to 
owe  him,  and  so  fain  she  was  to  hear  and  see  this 
friend,  that  scarce  might  she  think  of  her  life  on 
the  earth  and  he  not  a  part  of  it  in  some  way. 

So  wore  the  spring  and  summer,  and  all  seemed 
at  peace  about  Brookside :  and  many  merry  days 
did  the  Maiden  and  the  Carline  share  in,  as  rid- 
ing in  the  meadows  and  woods  with  hawk  and 
hound,  and  feasts  in  the  fair  land  further  aloof; 
and  the  Midsummer  and  Michaelmas  markets, 
which  were  held  in  the  meadow  betwixt  the  Castle 
and  the  township  of  Brookside;  and  a  riding 
more  than  two  or  three  to  the  cheaping-town  of 
that  country-side,  which  was  some  five  leagues 
distant  and  was  a  good  and  plenteous  town. 
Withal  a  many  folk  came  a-guesting  to  the  Castle, 
knowing  it  to  be  a  guest-kind  house,  as  pilgrims 
and  chapmen,  and  knights  and  men-at-arms  rid- 
ing hither  and  thither  on  their  errands,  so  that  it 
was  no  unlikely  place  to  hear  tidings  of  the  coun- 
tries and  kingdoms. 

And  thus  the  days  pass,  sometimes  lightly,  but 
more  ofttimes  heavily  enough,  and  summer  wore 
to  winter,  winter  to  summer,  and  two  years  are 
over;  and  now  when  the  aforesaid  Michaelmas 
market  was  come  again,  great  recourse  was  there 


330  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

of  far-travelled  and  wise  men,  and  the  Carline,  as 
was  her  wont  each  year,  set  herself  diligently  to 
learn  all  she  might  of  such-like  folk.  And  she 
had  wherewithal  to  buy  wares  of  likely  chapmen, 
and  to  treat  men-at-arms  and  others  to  wine  and 
banquet.  For  she  had  brought  away  with  her  a 
marvellous  collar  of  gems,  which  the  Maiden 
owned,  and  which,  as  she  said,  was  the  gift  of  the 
Dwarfs  ;  and  the  Maiden  consenting  thereto,  the 
Carline  had  sold  three  gems  from  the  said  collar, 
so  that  they  lacked  not  money.  Now  as  to  the 
tidings  the  Carline  heard  of,  they  had  for  the 
most  part  to  do  with  the  deeds  and  uprising  of 
Sir  Godrick  of  Longshaw,  and  how  that  the 
Barons  of  the  lands  that  lay  about  would  not  en- 
dure his  ways  and  his  pride,  and  were  levying  war 
against  him ;  and  they  said  they  knew  for  certain 
that,  when  spring  came  next  year,  they  would  be 
on  him,  and  that  they  had  made  a  League  into 
which  they  looked  to  draw  the  King  of  the  City 
of  the  Sundering  Flood,  and  that  meanwhile  the 
League  was  already  most  mightily  manned,  and 
so  far-reaching  that  it  was  a  sure  thing  that  the 
Lord  of  Brookside  had  come  into  it,  yea  and 
even  others  further  north  and  west  than  he. 
Now  all  were  in  one  tale  about  this;  but  one  man 
there  was  with  whom  the  Carline  spoke,  and  he 
neither  the  youngest  nor  least  wise,  who  said : 
And  yet,  dame,  I  look  for  it  that  the  Knight  of 
Longshaw  will  yet  give  this  League  a  troublous 
hank  to  unwind,  so  wise  a  man  as  he  is,  and  so 
well  accompanied  by  wise  and  lucky  men;   and 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  33 1 

now  hath  he  gotten  a  new  captain,  a  young  man 
from  far  away  up-country ;  and  though  there  has 
since  his  coming  been  no  great  war  afoot,  yet  hath 
this  newcomer  been  one  of  certain  adventures, 
wherein  he  hath  proved  himself.  And  by  all  I 
could  see  and  hear,  for  I  was  dwelling  seven  days 
at  Longshaw,  he  will  be  the  right  hand  of  Sir 
Godrick,  and  that  means  that  the  Knight  deems 
of  him  as  no  mere  man-at-arms,  but  a  wise  man 
also.  Moreover  I  myself  have  seen  the  young 
man,  and  this  I  seem  to  see  in  him,  that  he  has 
the  lucky  look  in  his  eyes;  and  I  am  deemed 
cunning  in  the  judging  of  men.  All  this  and 
more  did  the  Carline  hear  tell  of,  and  she  weighed 
it  heedfully,  and  thought  that  a  change  of  days 
was  coming. 


CHAPTER  LVIII.    THE  BLUE  KNIGHT 
AND  HIS  HOST  LEAVE  BROOKSIDE. 

A  MONTH  after  this,  and  ere  the  winter 
had  set  in,  came  riding  to  Brookside  a 
knight  and  two  squires,  and  had  a  special 
message  to  the  Blue  Knight,  who  received  them 
with  all  honour  and  kindness  and  heard  what 
they  had  to  say,  and  prayed  them  to  abide  with 
him  a  while,  since  they  had  ridden  far  from  the 
south  and  the  east ;  but  they  would  not  tarry  but 
one  night,  for  they  had  further  to  go.  When 
they  were  departed  Sir  Mark  made  no  secret  of 
their  message,  which  was  that  the  hosting  of  the 
Barons'  League  would  be  in  such  place,  east  of 
the  water  and  far  to  the  south,  a  month  before 
Marymass  of  next  year;  and  they  prayed  him 
to  be  leal  and  true  to  the  League,  and  gather 
to  him  what  force  he  might,  as  well  armed  and 
formed  in  all  ways  as  could  be  done.  But  he 
answered  that  he  was  all  ready  thereto,  and  should 
do  his  devoir  to  the  uttermost  of  his  power. 

When  the  Maiden  heard  this  she  was  troubled, 
and  asked  him  what  he  deemed  of  the  chances 
of  the  war  ;  and  he  said  :  Lady,  this  is  what  we 
were  talking  of  with  the  Lord  of  Warding  Knowe 
that  other  day ;  and  I  must  tell  thee,  though  I 
shall  go  to  the  hosting  merrily  and  expend  me 
there  to  the  utmost,  yet  I  deem  that  they  be  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  233 

luckiest  who  may  keep   them  out  of  this  strife, 
as  I  may  not.     Yet,  said  she,  be  they  not  mighty 
men,  these   Barons  ?   and  all   men  say  that  their 
League  is  well  knit  together  ;  so  that  at  the  worst, 
if  they  overwhelm  not  the   Knight  of  Longshaw, 
they  may   hold  them   well  against  him.     Lady, 
said   he,  by   my  deeming,    if  we  crush   not  this 
valiant  man  utterly  he  will  scatter  us  ;  he  is  not 
such  a  man,  if  he  have  any  force  left,  as  may  be 
held  aloof,  as  a  man  will   hold  a  fierce  sheep-dog 
with  a  staff  till  the  shepherd  come.     To  end  it, 
since   I   am  saying  this  to   none   but  thee,  I  see 
myself  so  bestead  that  I   shall  deem  me  a  lucky 
man  if  I  bring  back  a  whole  skin  from  this  war. 
It  will  be  evil  days  for  all  of  us,  said  she,  if  thou 
come  not  back  hale  and  sound.     It  gladdens  my 
heart  that  thou   shouldst  say  so,  quoth  he  ;  and 
yet  I  would  have  thee  look  to  it,  that  if  we  over- 
throw this  wise  man  and  good  knight,  and  I  say 
again  that  must  be  utterly  or  not  at  all,  there  will 
be  more  moan  made  over  him  than  over  a  dozen 
such  as  I  ;  and  that  is  no  otherwise  than  it  should 
be.     Said    she:     I    would  thou    wert    with    him 
and  not  against  him.      The  Knight  said  kindly  : 
Dear  Maiden,  thou  must  not  say  such  words  to 
me,  for  thou  knowest  that  my  part  is  chosen  by 
my  own  will. 

She  said  nought,  but  nodded  and  looked  on 
him  as  one  who  understood  and  thought  well  of 
him  ;  and  he  began  again  :  So  it  is  that  yonder 
knight-messenger  told  me,  amidst  of  his  talk, 
that  he  had  been  but  the  other  day  to   Longshaw 


334  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

under  safe-conduct,  and  that  there  it  was  told 
him  by  one  of  the  loose-tongued  and  grudging 
kind,  as  I  deem,  that  Sir  Godrick  of  Longshaw 
had  gotten  to  him  in  these  latter  days  a  new 
captain,  a  man  very  young,  and  as  it  were  a 
David  to  look  on  in  the  days  before  he  slew  the 
Philistine.  Furthermore,  said  this  grudger,  that 
though  the  said  youth  was  a  tall  lad  of  his  inches, 
and  strong  and  well-knit,  he  was  all  untried, 
and  yet  was  he  shoving  aside  older  and  well- 
proven  men  in  the  favour  of  the  Knight  of  Long- 
shaw. In  short,  the  said  grudger  went  on  with 
his  tale  as  though  there  were  some  big  grievance 
against  his  master  brewing  in  Longshaw,  and  our 
knight  deemed  that  so  it  was,  and  that  they 
would  hold  together  the  looser,  and  that  thereby 
we  should  have  the  cheaper  bargain  of  them.  All 
of  which  I  trow  nowise,  but  deem,  on  the  con- 
trary, that  I  see  in  this  glorious  young  man  even 
the  one  sent  from  heaven  for  the  helping  of  our 
enemy,  of  whom  I  dreaded  that  he  would  come 
ere  long  time  was  worn.  But  now  let  all  things 
be  as  they  will  that  be  not  under  my  hand. 

The  Maiden  still  kept  silence,  but  she  flushed 
very  red  and  her  eyes  glittered  ;  for  her  heart  was 
smitten  by  this  tale  of  the  young  champion,  and 
the  thought  sprang  up  suddenly  :  Who  then  can 
this  be  save  mine  own  beloved  ?  But  the  talk 
between  them  fell. 

Wore  the  days  then  till  the  winter  came  upon 
them,  and  though  the  season  was  not  hard,  yet 
was  there  but  little  coming  and  going  about  the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  23 S 

country-side,  that  is  to  say  for  long  journeys ; 
but  even  so  the  Blue  Knight  had  his  hands  full  of 
business  in  seeing  to  the  gathering  of  men  and 
stuff  for  the  hosting  of  the  Barons'  League. 
But  when  March  was  at  hand,  and  the  roads 
were  dry,  there  was  no  need  of  further  message 
to  him,  and  he  let  it  be  known  to  all  and  several 
that  on  the  very  first  day  of  the  month  he  would 
depart  before  sunrise.  And  this  he  told  to  the 
Maiden  specially,  and  by  this  time  she  had  got 
to  look  upon  it  as  a  thing  already  done,  so  that 
the  news  thereof  took  not  much  from  her  cheer, 
which,  to  say  sooth,  was  but  little. 

Mighty  was  the  hubbub  and  toil  of  their  get- 
ting ready  ;  but  when  the  morning  was  come  all 
was  in  good  order,  and  the  men  and  their  wains 
and  what  not  were  all  drawn  up  in  array  down  on 
the  little  plain  before  the  bridge,  and  they  looked 
as  if  nothing  might  overthrow  them,  so  stalwart 
they  were  each  man,  and  so  well  learned  to  move 
as  though  they  were  one.  The  sun  was  not  yet 
up  ere  there  came  a  knock  on  the  Maiden's  door, 
and  she,  who  was  fully  clad,  and  had  been  look- 
ing out  of  her  window,  whence  she  could  see  all 
the  array,  for  a  good  while,  went  to  the  door  and 
opened,  and  lo  !  it  was  Sir  Mark,  fully  armed 
save  his  head.  She  put  out  her  hands  to  him 
and  said :  Thou  hast  come  to  say  farewell  to 
me.  See,  I  have  saved  thee  the  pain  of  saying 
that  word ;  soon  may  it  be  that  I  shall  have  to 
say  Welcome  back !  He  took  her  hands  and 
kissed    her    face    many    times,    and   she  suffered 


33^  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

him.  Then  he  said  :  O  my  thanks  to  thee  !  Ye 
hearken:  If  I  come  not  back  at  all,  when  it  is 
known  for  sure  here  that  I  am  dead,  then  I  rede 
thee  make  as  little  delay  as  thou  mayest,  but  get 
thee  gone  at  once,  thou  and  thy  nurse,  from  the 
pleasant  house  of  Brookside,  and  go  straight  to 
the  house  of  the  Grey  Sisters,  which  thou  hast 
seen  from  without  many  a  time,  that  lieth  betwixt 
wood  and  water  a  seven  miles  down  the  river,  and 
tell  them  that  I  have  sent  you  and  bid  them  to 
cherish  you  ;  then  will  they  see  to  thy  matters  in 
the  best  way  they  know.  Much  more  might  I 
say,  and  I  know  that  thou  wouldst  hearken  me, 
but  I  must  forbear,  lest  I  soften  my  heart  over- 
much for  this  day  and  this  hour. 

Then  he  turned  and  went,  but  came  back  in  a 
twinkling  while  she  still  stood  at  the  door,  and  said 
to  her  :  I  tell  thee  it  needeth  but  a  little  but  that  I 
should  do  off  this  weed  of  war  and  abide  at  home 
while  my  men  wend  to  battle.  Then  he  turned 
again  and  was  gone. 

But  the  Maiden  went  to  the  window  weeping 
thus  to  lose  her  friend,  and  the  Carline  came  to 
her  there,  and  they  looked  forth,  and  beheld  the 
Knight  ride  down  to  his  men.  And  then  all  the 
array  shook  and  clashed,  as  they  shouted  for  joy 
that  their  captain  was  come  amongst  them  ;  and 
there  were  the  two  young  squires,  gay  and  bright 
in  their  broidered  surcoats,  and  they  fell  into  their 
places  beside  the  lord,  and  Roland  bore  the  wavy 
banner.  Then  arose  the  sun,  and  Sir  Mark 
drew    forth    his    sword   and   waved    it   aloft,  and 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  337 

Roland  shook  the  banner  loose  and  displayed  it 
in  the  clear  air.  The  horns  blew  up,  and  the 
whole  band  of  them  got  on  to  the  bridge  and 
went  their  ways  toward  the  place  where  the  road 
to  the  south  and  the  east  turned  off  from  the 
northern  road.  Even  so  departed  that  glorious 
piece  of  ordered  might ;  and  when  they  were 
quite  gone  those  two  turned  away  from  the  win- 
dow, and  the  days  which  were  next  to  come 
seemed  empty  and  dull. 

But  the  Maiden  told  the  Carline  all  that  the 
Blue  Knight  had  said  to  her  about  fleeing  straight- 
way to  the  Grey  Sisters  if  he  himself  should  fall 
in  the  war;  and  the  two  looked  at  each  other 
awhile,  and  each  knew  the  thoughts  which  were  in 
the  other's  heart,  and  which  each  left  unspoken  ; 
to  wit,  that  Sir  Mark  feared  his  mother's  pride 
and  malice,  what  she  might  do  if  he  were  no  longer 
there  to  refrain  it ;  yea,  and  she  seeking  some 
outlet  to  her  grief  and  solace  for  it  in  wrath  and 
cruelty. 


22 


CHAPTER  LIX.  THE  MAIDEN  AND 
THE  CARLINE  FLEE  TO  THE  GREY 
SISTERS. 

NOW  wore  away  the  days  of  March,  and  all 
was  peaceable,  but  no  tidings  came  from 
Sir  Mark,  nor  forsooth  was  any  looked 
for  so  early.  The  Blue  Knight  had  left  but 
three-score  of  men-at-arms  at  Brookside,  under 
an  ancient  knight  who  had  won  his  spurs  with 
hard  fighting  and  was  as  wise  of  war  as  may  be, 
but  whose  strength  was  worn  away  somewhat. 
But  this  seemed  of  little  import,  as  none  looked 
for  any  war,  save  it  might  be  the  riding  of  a  band 
of  strong-thieves,  who  would  scarce  try  the  tall 
ramparts  of  Brookside,  or  had  been  speedily 
thrust  aside  had  they  so  done.  Yet  did  the 
seneschal  look  well  to  his  gates,  which  were  shut 
save  for  a  few  hours  midmost  of  the  day,  and 
kept  good  watch  and  ward  day-long  and  night- 
long. And  few  people  were  suffered  to  enter  the 
Castle,  save  the  neighbours  who  were  well  known, 
or  now  and  again  a  wandering  chapman ;  but 
such  an  one  was  ever  put  out-a-gates  before  sun- 
set :  and  no  one  of  these  even  made  a  show  of 
giving  any  news  of  the  country  of  the  war.  But 
midmost  of  April  came  some  news,  such  as  it 
was,  to  wit,  that  the  Barons'  League  had  driven 
him  of  Longshaw  out  of  the  field  by  the  mere 
terror  of  their  host  and  the  wind   of  its  banners. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  339 

and  he  had  shut  himself  up  in  Longshaw,  whereto 
they  were  drawing  speedily,  and  that  the  King  of 
the  City  of  the  Sundering  Flood  had  brought  his 
host  into  the  field  to  help  the  Barons.  When 
the  Castle-folk  heard  this  they  doubted  not  but 
that  the  Lord  of  Longshaw  was  undone,  and  they 
were  exceeding  joyous  thereof.  But  the  Maiden, 
though  she  might  hope  the  more  to  see  her  friend 
come  back  whole  and  sound,  was  unmerry  at  the 
tidings,  she  could  scarce  tell  for  why  ;  neither  did 
the  Carline  blame  her  therefor. 

But  again,  almost  in  the  face  of  May,  chapmen 
more  than  two  or  three  brought  tidings  again, 
to  wit,  that  all  was  done :  Longshaw  taken  and 
ruined,  the  warriors  thereof  slain  or  scattered,  and 
Sir  Godrick  brought  to  the  heading-block  in  the 
King's  City.  Now  great  indeed  was  the  joy  in 
Brookside,  and  great  joy  and  feast  they  made ; 
and  the  Lady  of  the  Castle  sat  at  the  high-table, 
clad  in  golden  garments,  at  a  glorious  banquet 
which  was  held  every  night  of  the  octave  of  the 
day  when  they  had  first  heard  these  good  tidings. 
But  when  the  Carline  saw  the  sadness  of  the 
Maiden  because  of  it,  she  said  to  her :  Nay,  nay, 
my  child,  put  on  a  good  countenance  and  up  with 
thine  heart.  For  every  tale  is  good  till  the  next 
one  is  told ;  and  I  must  tell  thee  that  these  last 
two  who  had  this  one  in  their  mouths,  the  chap- 
man and  the  canon  to  wit,  I  questioned  them 
closely,  first  the  two  together,  and  then  each  one 
by  himself,  and  methought  I  could  see  that  they 
knew  little  more  about  it  than  we  do,  and  were 


340  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

but  carrying  about  empty  hearsay,  ever  making 
the  most  of  what  they  deemed  we  and  they  would 
Hke  the  best  to  hear.  I  would  rather  they  had 
told  us  once  more  of  the  Aunturs  of  King  Arthur 
and  Sir  Gawain.  The  Maiden  smiled  at  her 
word,  and  her  heart  was  lightened,  for  it  pleased 
her  nought  to  think  that  this  good  Knight,  Sir 
Godrick,  whom  her  friend  had  so  bepraised  to 
her,  should  have  been  overcome  and  led  to  death 
by  his  foemen.  Now  after  this  they  gat  no  tid- 
ings of  any  account  till  May  was  well  on ;  and 
then  none  at  all  a  long  while,  till  at  last  June  was 
come,  and  folk  about  the  Castle  were  getting 
fearful,  lest  something  untoward  had  befallen. 

At  last,  on  a  hot  and  dry  afternoon  of  June, 
when  the  Carline  and  the  Maiden  were  together 
and  had  gotten  leave  to  be  without  the  gate, 
they  saw  a  horseman  come  riding  from  the 
wood  on  the  other  side  of  the  gate,  with  his  head 
turned  toward  the  Castle,  and  then  another,  and 
then  two  more.  And  as  they  drew  nigher  they 
could  see  that  these  were  gaunt  and  tattered  and 
in  evil  array,  and  they  rode  very  slowly.  And 
those  two  beheld  them,  and  saw  that  no  more 
came,  and  they  wondered  what  they  were.  But 
at  last,  when  they  were  close  on  the  bridge,  they 
saw  only  too  well  by  the  rags  of  their  array  and 
by  the  faces  of  two  of  them,  whom  they  knew, 
that  these  were  men-at-arms  of  Brookside.  And 
the  women  stood  still  astonied  and  wist  not  what 
to  do;  and  the  men  also  drew  up  to  them  and 
then  abode,  and  one,  he   whom  they   knew   the 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  34 1 

best,  spake  to  them  in  a  harsh  voice  and  said : 
God  knows  we  have  striven  hard  to  save  our  lives 
this  long  while  past,  that  there  might  be  one  or 
two  left  to  tell  the  tale ;  but  now  it  is  not  so  sure 
but  that  up  there  they  will  slay  us  for  coming 
home  alive.  But  we  heed  not,  for  we  be  foul 
like  beasts  and  hungry  like  beasts  and  weary  like 
beasts.  Let  the  beasts  pass  who  were  once  men 
of  Brookside !  Poor  men,  said  the  Maiden 
kindly,  ye  need  not  wound  your  lips  by  telling 
me  the  tale,  for  I  know  it,  to  wit,  the  others  are 
all  slain  and  perished,  and  that  your  lord  fell  with 
all  valiance  in  the  very  heat  of  the  battle.  O,  woe 
is  me  for  my  friend  !  And  she  wept.  But  the 
man  stared  at  her  wildly,  as  if  he  were  astonied  to 
hear  the  unused  sweetness  of  her  voice.  But  she 
said :  Come  now,  and  let  me  lead  thee  to  thy  fel- 
lows ;  maybe  they  will  be  astir  now.  So  she  put 
her  hand  on  his  bridle  to  lead  him,  and  he  fol- 
lowed without  naysay,  and  the  others  after  him. 
And  they  passed  in  under  the  gate ;  and  by  this 
time  there  were  a  score  or  more  folk  in  the  court, 
for  they  had  seen  the  riding  of  men  from  the 
walls  or  windows.  But  lo,  now  the  Maiden, 
when  she  looked  about  for  the  Carline,  might  see 
her  nowhere.  But  even  therewith  came  one  man 
and  another  thronging  about  those  runaways, 
and  some  crying  out.  Tell  all,  tell  at  once  !  and 
blubbering  outright,  bearded  men  though  they 
were ;  and  some  standing  stock-still  and  staring 
straight  before  them  in  the  extremity  of  their  over- 
throw.    And  amidst  of  all  this   the  Maiden  was 


342  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

shoved  aside  and  swept  out  of  the  way,  till  pres- 
ently she  felt  a  hand  laid  on  her  shoulder,  and 
found  it  was  the  Carline,  who  spake :  Come  out 
now  amidst  all  this  hubbub  ere  some  one  think  of 
it  to  shut  the  gates.  Come  speedily.  And  they 
came  outside  the  gate,  and  found  none  there,  but 
two  horses,  and  saddle-bags  and  a  pack  upon 
each.  And  the  Carline  said :  Mount  now,  and 
we  will  go  as  thy  dead  friend  bade  us  ;  for  none 
may  stay  us  now,  and  these  horses  are  our  very 
own.  Now  will  we  ride  away,  to-night  it  may  be 
as  far  as  the  Grey  Sisters,  but  to-morrow  further. 


CHAPTER  LX.     THEY  FALL  IN  WITH 
THREE  CHAPMEN. 

NOW  when  the  next  day  was,  the  Lady  of 
Brookside  sent  a  score  of  men-at-arms 
to  the  House  of  the  Grey  Sisters,  and 
bade  them  give  up  to  them  the  CarHne  and  the 
Maiden,  if  they  had  them  there.  But  the  Sisters 
said  that  they  had  come  to  them  indeed  the 
night  before  and  had  slept  in  their  house,  but  had 
gone  on  early  in  the  morning ;  and  when  the 
men  asked  what  road  they  had  taken,  they  said 
that  they  had  gone  north,  and  were  minded  for 
the  uplands  and  the  mountains.  So  the  men-at- 
arms  made  no  delay,  but  turned  and  rode  the 
northern  way  diligently,  and  put  their  horses  to 
it  all  they  might ;  and  they  rode  all  that  day  and 
part  of  the  next ;  but  rode  they  fast  or  rode  they 
slow,  it  was  all  one,  for  they  came  across  neither 
hide  nor  hair  of  those  twain,  and  so  must  needs 
come  back  empty-handed  to  Brookside.  And 
when  they  told  the  Lady  hereof,  she  fell  into  a 
cold  rage,  and  cursed  those  twain  for  their  folly 
and  thanklessness,  and  said  that  now  they  had 
missed  all  the  good  that  she  had  in  her  heart  to 
do  them,  since  they  had  been  such  close  friends 
to  her  dear  son,  late  murdered.  But  however 
that  might  be,  the  Carline  and  the  Maiden  never 
saw  Brookside  again. 


344  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Sooth  to  say,  it  was  by  no  means  north  that 
those  twain  rode,  but  as  near  south  as  might  be. 
The  Sisters  were  good  to  them,  and  gave  them 
each  a  gown  such  as  their  lay-sisters  wore,  for 
they  said  that  so  arrayed  they  would  be  the  less 
m.eddled  with.  Therewithal  the  Prioress  gave  them 
a  writing  under  her  seal,  praying  all  religious 
houses  to  help  them  wheresoever  they  came, 
whereas  they  were  holy  women  and  of  good  life. 
And  the  twain  thanked  them  and  blessed  them, 
and  made  an  oblation,  each  one  of  them,  of  a  fine 
ruby  from  off  that  necklace  of  gems  aforesaid. 

Now  they  rode  through  a  peaceable  country,  not 
ill-peopled,  for  two  weeks  or  more,  and  gat  good 
guesting,  whiles  at  some  house  of  nuns,  whiles  at 
a  good  yeoman's,  and  ever  were  folk  good  to 
them ;  and  nought  befell  them  to  tell  of,  save 
that  once  they  were  chased  by  riders,  but  over- 
went them  and  came  under  the  shelter  of  a  good 
old  knight's  castle,  who  drave  off  the  thieves,  and 
gave  them  good  guesting,  but  was  of  somewhat 
heavy  cheer,  whereas  his  son,  who  had  gone  to 
the  wars,  had  been  taken  captive  by  the  Lord  of 
Longshaw,  and  was  not  yet  come  back  again. 

After  this  they  came  into  worser  lands,  rocky 
and  barren,  but  made  their  way  through  some- 
how, whereas  the  Carline  was  deft  at  snaring  small 
deer,  as  coneys  and  the  like,  and  so  they  lived  and 
got  forward  on  their  way. 

But  on  a  day  toward  sunset,  as  they  had  just 
turned  about  a  corner  of  the  road,  they  came  up- 
on a  fellowship  of  a  half-score  men  who  were  at 


THE   SUNDERING    FLOOD  345 

their  supper  on  the  green  grass  just  before  them. 
Two  of  these  gat  straight  to  their  horses  and  rode 
toward  the  dames,  who,  seeing  that  their  horses 
were  well-nigh  spent,  and  not  knowing  which 
side  to  turn  to,  stood  still  and  abode  the  new- 
comers, who  were  nought  but  courteous  to  them, 
and  bade  them  to  eat  with  them.  The  twain 
yeasaid  it  perforce,  and  were  well  treated  by  the 
travellers,  who  said  they  were  merchants  on 
the  road  to  the  peopled  parts  that  lay  beyond 
the  mountains  ;  and  even  so  it  seemed  by  their 
packs  and  bundles  of  goods.  Albeit,  ere  they  lay 
down  to  sleep,  the  Maiden  whispered  to  the 
Carline :  Mother,  I  fear  me  that  we  be  fallen 
amongst  thieves  :  and  this  seems  like  the  tale  of 
the  felons  who  first  stole  me,  with  no  kind  and 
dear  knight  at  hand  to  buy  me  out  of  servitude. 
Yea,  my  sweet,  said  the  Carline,  the  hay  smelleth 
of  that  weed  ;  but  fear  thou  not,  for  I  will  deliver 
thee  if  so  it  be.  So  when  the  morning  was,  and 
the  day  was  bright,  those  merchants  drew  about 
the  Carline  and  the  Maiden  ;  and  there  were 
three  masters  there,  and  two  of  them  young  men 
not  ill-liking.  Now  the  Carline  speaks  to  the 
elder  of  the  three,  and  thanks  him  for  the  meat 
and  drink  and  company,  and  says  withal  that  they 
will  now  be  gone,  as  time  presses  them.  Says 
the  Chapman  :  Nay,  Carline,  not  so  fast ;  how 
shall  ye  go  safer  than  with  us,  ten  weaponed  men 
to  wit?  And  safe  thou  shouldst  go,  dame, 
whereas  thou  bearest  with  thee  so  great  a  treasure. 
Said  the  third  and    youngest  of  the    chapmen  : 


346  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

Go  with  us  ye  needs  must  till  we  have  seen  thy 
damsel  safely  set  in  good  hands :  or  what  do  ye 
with  her  ?  Said  the  Maiden  :  O  my  masters,  this 
is  my  foster-mother,  and  to  say  sooth  the  only 
mother  that  I  have  known ;  it  is  with  all  my  will 
that  I  go  where  she  leadeth.  I  pray  you  let  her 
do  her  will.  And  she  was  sore  moved,  and  wept. 
Let-a-be,  child,  said  the  Carline,  caressing  her ;  if 
these  lords  are  fain  to  be  our  guides  and  guards, 
let  us  thank  them  kindly  for  it  and  go  with  them 
joyfully.  The  chapmen  looked  keenly  on  her, 
but  could  see  nought  amiss  in  her  way  of  speech  ; 
so  they  trowed  in  her,  and  went  about  their  mat- 
ters arraying  them  for  departure,  and  right  joy- 
ous they  seemed  of  the  adventure.  As  for  the 
Maiden,  she  yet  wept ;  and  when  the  Carline  got 
to  talk  to  her  apart,  as  was  easy  amidst  all  the 
bustle,  the  sweetling  said  amidst  her  tears  :  O  my 
mother,  I  know  not  how  to  bear  it,  that  now 
after  all  is  done  I  am  to  be  a  thrall,  and  sold  to 
someone,  I  know  not  who.  And  I  shall  be  hid- 
den away  from  the  quest  and  the  quest  from  me, 
so  that  I  shall  never  see  my  love  again.  And 
even  now  who  knows  how  sorely  he  longeth  for 
me  !  Nay,  my  sweetling,  said  the  Carline,  hold 
up  thine  heart ;  no  thraldom  shall  befall  thee 
from  these  men,  for  I  shall  most  surely  deliver 
thee ;  but  let  them  first  bring  us  safe  toward  the 
edge  of  the  mountains,  and  we  will  take  their 
false  guesting  the  while  for  what  it  is  worth,  and 
trust  me  I  shall  watch  them  all  the  while.  So  the 
Maiden    stayed  her  weeping,   but  was   shy   and 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  347 

timid  these  days,  and  her  loathing  of  these  thieves 
of  folk's  bodies  and  souls  made  her  downcast. 

Two  nights  after,  when  they  were  resting  at  the 
day's  end,  the  Carline,  she  hidden  in  the  brake, 
came  across  the  three  men  contending  together  in 
speech,  and  the  words  of  the  elder  ending  his  talk 
she  just  caught :  Two  thousand  nobles  at  the 
least  would  the  Lord  James  pay  down  for  her  ; 
he  hath  none  like  her  in  the  house.  Nor  will 
have  ever,  said  the  second  man.  And  for  my 
part  I  will  not  give  her  up  for  my  share  of  a  two 
thousand  nobles.  Spake  the  third  thereon,  and 
he  was  the  stoutest  built  and  the  gallantest  looked 
of  the  three  :  Thou  wilt  not,  thou  !  What  sayest 
thou  to  me  then?  The  beginning  and  the  end  of 
it  is  this,  that  I  will  take  her  to  myself  alone  and 
sell  her  to  none.  Yea,  yea,  said  the  elder,  jeering, 
and  what  shall  we  do  ?  Thou  shalt  give  her  to 
me  for  a  price,  said  the  youngest.  Nay,  but  to 
me,  said  the  second :  every  one  of  thy  pieces  can 
I  cover  with  a  piece.  Now,  said  the  elder,  we 
get  on  swimmingly ;  since,  forsooth,  I  know  not 
where  either  thou  or  he  shall  get  all  that  gold 
from.  Wherefore  now  the  best  thing  ye  two  may 
do  at  this  present  is  to  fall  both  upon  me,  and 
slay  me  ;  and  after  that  ye  two  can  try  it  out  be- 
twixt yourselves,  and  he  who  is  left  can  go  back 
to  our  carles,  who  will  straightway  slay  him  when 
they  have  found  the  other  two  corpses.  How 
say  ye,  my  masters,  is  this  a  good  game  to  play  ^ 
They  sat  looking  surlily  on  him,  but  said  nought. 
Then  he  said  :     Since  this  is  come  above  ground. 


348  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

which  to  say  sooth  I  looked  for,  as  ye  are  two 
such  brisk  lads,  and  the  woman  such  a  pearl  of 
beauty,  this  is  my  bidding  :  let  us  bring  her  down 
into  the  peopled  parts  in  peace  and  good  fellow- 
ship, and  then  go  all  three  before  a  priest  and 
take  God's  body  at  his  hands,  and  pray  may  it 
choke  us  and  rot  us  if  we  take  not  her  straight  to 
the  Lord  James  and  sell  her  unto  him  for  the  best 
penny  we  may,  and  share  all  alike,  even  as  the 
honest  and  merry  merchants  we  be.  Ha,  what 
say  ye  now  ?  Belike  they  saw  that  there  was 
nothing  else  to  be  said,  but  as  moody  they  were 
as  moody  might  be.  And  to  say  sooth  the  Car- 
line  deemed  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  serving- 
men  that  would  be  left  over,  she  might  well  leave 
them  to  slay  themselves.  But  now  they  went 
back  to  their  folk,  and  the  Carline  followed  them 
in  a  little  while. 


CHAPTER  LXI.  THEY  ESCAPE 
FROM  THE  CHAPMEN  BY  THE 
CARLINE'S   WIZARDRY. 

THE  next  night  after,  they  were  come  to 
but  a  little  way  from  the  end  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  could  see  the  tilled  and  peopled 
lands  lying  down  before  them,  and  this  had  been 
no  very  long  day's  journey.  The  three  merchant- 
masters  had  ridden  much  apart  from  each  other 
all  day,  and  there  was  little  feasting  between  them 
at  even,  and  all  men  laid  them  down  early  to 
sleep.  The  Carline  had  spoken  a  word  to  the 
Maiden  as  they  were  a-riding,  so  that  none  might 
hear  :  Sweetling,  she  said,  the  thing  thou  hast  to 
do  to-night  is  to  give  heed  to  my  least  word  or 
beckoning,  and  obey  it,  and  then  will  all  be  well. 
So  they  two  lay  down  somewhat  away  from  the 
carle-folk.  Amidst  of  the  night  then  awoke  the 
Maiden,  and  the  moon  was  high  and  very  bright, 
and  looking  to  her  left  side  she  saw  the  Carline 
was  not  there  where  she  ought  to  have  been  ;  but 
nought  scared  was  she  thereat,  since  she  wotted 
well  that  something  would  betide ;  but,  moving 
as  little  as  she  might,  she  let  her  eyes  go 
round  the  campment,  and  even  therewith  saw 
the  said  Carline  coming  out  of  the  tent  of  the 
masters,  who  slept  all  together  there,  whereas 
their  serving-men  lay  as  they  might,  under  cloaks 


2  so  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  such-like,  beneath  the  naked  heavens,  the 
weather  being  fine  and  dry  as  at  that  time.  Stole 
the  Carline  then,  and  went  up  to  each  one  of  the 
said  men  and  made  unked  signs  over  him,  and 
when  all  that  was  done  stood  up  by  herself  amidst 
them  all  and  laughed  aloud.  Then  she  called 
out :  O  sweetling,  that  I  am  preserving  as  a  pearl 
of  all  price  for  the  greatest  warrior  of  the  world, 
wakest  thou  or  sleepest  ?  Speak  out  and  fear  not, 
for  these  now  will  lie  here  like  logs  long  after  the 
moon  is  gone  out  and  the  sun  is  shining.  These 
carles  thou  seest,  and  two  of  the  masters  lie 
therein  in  their  tent ;  but  the  third,  the  old  one, 
I  lured  away  far  into  the  thicket,  and  laid  him 
asleep  there ;  so  that  his  being  away,  and  the 
others  hunting  for  him,  might  breed  delay  and 
quarrels  amongst  these  runagates. 

The  Maiden  lightly  arose  and  spake  In  a  clear 
voice :  My  mother,  I  am  verily  awake  and  ready 
for  the  road.  So  she  came  to  the  Carline,  and 
they  went  together  to  the  horses  and  dight  their 
own,  which  were  the  best  of  the  company's,  and 
without  more  delay  gat  to  saddle  and  rode  quietly 
down  along  the  pass. 

So  rode  they  till  it  was  the  afternoon,  and  they 
were  come  out  of  the  mountains  into  the  first  of 
the  meadows.  Then  they  drew  rein  in  a  fair 
little  ingle  amidst  goodly  trees,  and  gat  off  their 
horses  and  tethered  them  amongst  the  sweet 
grass.  Then  spake  the  Carline :  I  must  now 
look  along  the  ways  of  sleep  and  see  what  is 
betiding.     Therewith  she  drew  from  her  hardes 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  351 

a  goat-skin  bag,  which  she  did  over  her  head, 
and  then  laid  herself  face  downwards  on  the 
grass ;  but  the  Maiden  sat  by  her  and  watched. 

Thus  she  lay  for  an  hour,  and  tumbled  and 
routed  in  her  slumber,  and  thereafter  she  awoke 
and  sat  up,  and  was  much  besweated  and  worn ; 
and  she  spake  in  a  weak  voice :  I  have  seen 
what  lieth  behind  and  what  lieth  before ;  now 
therefore  I  can  do,  and  all  will  be  well.  For 
the  chapmen  have  awakened  and  have  striven, 
the  two  young  ones  together,  and  then  the  two 
young  with  the  old  because  of  his  bitter  mocks. 
But  now  they  be  got  to  the  road  again,  and 
though  we  be  most  like  to  prevent  them  at  a 
place  of  refuge,  yet  wise  will  it  be  to  leave  as 
little  as  may  be  to  chance-hap.  As  to  what  lieth 
before,  I  have  seen  our  way  that  it  turneth  some- 
what east  to-morrow,  and  will  bring  us  to  a 
goodly  Abbey  that  hath  a  noble  guest-house, 
and  there,  by  the  help  of  the  Prior's  safe-conduct 
and  the  gifts  I  shall  give  to  the  saints  and  the 
stewards,  we  shall  be  put  well  upon  our  way. 
But  now  will  I  do ;  and  when  thou  seest  me 
fall  down  and  lie  like  to  one  dead,  be  not  afeard, 
but  when  I  come  to  myself  again  then  sprinkle 
my  face  with  water  and  put  a  cup  of  wine  to 
my  lips,  and  thereafter  shall  I  be  whole,  and 
we  shall  eat  and  drink  and  go  on  our  way. 

Then  the  Carline  went  about  the  way  and 
gathered  handfuls  of  the  dust  and  small  stones 
and  laid  them  in  the  bag,  and  then  lay  down 
on  the  way  and  put  the  bag  under  her  bosom 


2S^  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  brooded  it,  as  a  hen  broodeth  her  eggs, 
moaning  and  muttering  the  while,  and  thus  she 
was  a  long  hour.  Then  she  arose  and  let  her 
hair  loose,  and  it  was  long  and  white  and  not 
scanty.  In  this  guise  she  walked  to  and  fro 
athwart  the  road,  keeping  her  face  turned  toward 
the  mountains,  and  kept  taking  handfuls  of  that 
dust  and  casting  it  up  toward  that  quarter  ;  and 
ever  and  anon  she  cried  out :  Be  mist  and  mirk, 
and  bewilderment  and  fear,  before  those  faces 
of  our  foemen  !  Be  a  wall  behind  us  that  they 
may  not  pierce  through  !  Mirk  behind  us,  light 
before  us  !  So  she  went  on  till  she  had  emptied 
the  said  bag,  and  then  she  fell  aback  and  lay 
on  the  road  as  one  dead.  And  the  Maiden  did 
as  she  had  bidden  and  meddled  not  with  her. 
But  at  last,  and  it  was  another  hour,  she  began 
to  come  to  herself,  and  the  Maiden  sprinkled 
her  with  water  and  gave  her  wine  to  drink,  and 
the  old  woman  arose  and  was  herself  again  and 
of  good  cheer  ;  and  she  stowed  away  her  bag, 
and  they  drew  forth  victual  and  ate  and  drank 
kindly  and  merrily  together. 

So  they  gat  to  the  road  again  when  it  yet 
lacked  three  hours  of  sunset,  but  rode  not  after 
night  had  fallen  lest  they  should  miss  their  way. 
And  no  shelter  they  had  that  night  but  the  grass 
and  the  trees  and  the  well-bedecked  heavens,  and 
all  that  was  sweet  enough  for  them. 

On  the  morrow  they  gat  to  the  road  early 
enough,  and  soon  began  to  come  amongst  the 
cots  and  the  homesteads,  and  saw  the  folk  labour- 


THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD  ^^^3 

ing  afield,  and  none  were  otherwise  than  friendly 
to  them  ;  and  a  company  of  husbandmen,  carles 
and  queans,  hailed  them  from  the  ingle  of  an 
acre  where  they  were  eating  their  dinner  and 
bade  light  down  and  share,  and  they  did  so 
with  a  good  will ;  and  the  upland  folk  looked 
with  wonder  on  the  Maiden  and  her  beauty, 
and  gave  her  much  worship.  But  the  Carline 
talked  with  them,  and  asked  them  much  of  their 
land  and  how  it  sped  with  them  ;  and  they  said 
it  v/as  well  with  them,  for  that  they  dwelt  in 
good  peace,  whereas  they  were  under  the  domin- 
ion of  the  great  Abbey,  which  dealt  mildly  with 
them,  and  would  not  suffer  them  to  be  harried; 
and  they  pointed  out  to  the  newcomers  a  fair 
white  castle  lying  on  a  spur  of  the  hills  which 
went  up  to  the  waste  mountains,  and  did  them 
to  wit  that  there  was  the  bit  and  the  bridle 
of  any  wild  men  who  might  get  it  into  their 
heads  to  break  out  on  to  the  wealth  of  the  Holy 
Fathers.  And  there  be  many  such,  said  they, 
about  our  land,  and  especially  a  good  way  east 
and  south  hence  where  the  land  marcheth  on 
the  Great  Forest,  which  is  haunted  by  the  worst 
of  men,  who  will  not  be  refrained  but  by  great 
might  and  great  heed.  And  now,  said  they, 
we  hear  tell  of  that  mighty  and  good  lord,  the 
Knight  of  Longshaw,  that  he  hath  of  late  pre- 
vailed against  his  foes,  who  be  tyrants  and  op- 
pressors ;  and  if  that  be  sooth,  he  shall  do  as 
much  or  more  on  the  east  side  of  the  forest 
as  my  Lord  Abbot  hath  done  in  the  west,  and 

23 


354  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

peace  and  good  days  shall  abide  with  us.  Much 
those  twain  heeded  this  talk,  and  they  prayed  for 
that  lord,  him  and  his. 

So  they  thanked  that  good  folk  and  went  their 
ways,  and  in  an  hour's  time  they  found  the  path 
which  would  do  their  eastering  for  them  toward 
the  Abbey  ;  and  shortly  to  say  it,  they  came  to 
the  guest-house  thereof  two  hours  before  it  began 
to  dusk,  and  were  well  served  by  the  brethren 
whose  office  it  was. 


CHAPTER    LXII.     THE    CARLINE 
ENDETH    HER   TALE. 

WHEN  they  arose  on  the  morrow  they 
began  to  think  of  departure,  though 
they  would  have  kept  them  in  that 
guest-house  for  many  days ;  but  both  of  the 
twain,  and  especially  the  Maiden,  deemed  that, 
if  they  might,  they  should  be  drawing  nigh  to 
that  dwelling  of  the  good  Knight  who  had  over- 
thrown the  League  of  the  Barons  ;  and  they  both 
deemed  that  thereabout,  if  anywhere,  they  should 
have  tidings,  even  had  they  long  to  wait  for  them, 
of  that  new  champion  whom  the  wise  Knight  had 
gotten. 

Now  then  the  Carline  did  wisely,  and  she  got 
to  see  the  Steward,  and  fell  to  talk  with  him,  and 
did  him  to  wit  that,  for  all  the  simplicity  of  their 
raiment,  they  had  both  the  will  and  the  might  to 
make  a  fair  oblation  to  the  Saint ;  and  she  took 
from  the  aforesaid  necklace  two  sapphires  and 
two  emeralds,  all  great  and  very  fair,  and  the 
Steward's  eyes  danced  in  the  head  of  him  at  the 
sight,  and  he  said  :  This  is  a  fair  gift  indeed,  and 
if  ye  will  come  with  me  into  the  church  I  will  show 
you  to  the  Sub-prior,  and  if  ye  have  any  honest 
desire,  as  is  like,  since  ye  have  such  love  of  Holy 
Church,  he  and  I  between  us  will  help  you  there- 
in ;  and  if  not,   nought  is   your   time  wasted   in 


3S6  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

seeing  our  church,  which  is  of  itself  worth  a  long 
journey  to  behold. 

So  they  went,  well  pleased,  and  when  they  were 
in  the  church  they  found  that  he  had  said  nought 
but  the  sooth :  so  many  pillars  there  were  reach- 
ing up  and  toward  the  sky,  so  nobly  wide  it  was, 
and  as  long  as  it  should  be.  And  there  were 
many  altars  therein,  all  as  well  furnished  as  might 
be  done;  and  long  had  it  taken  any  lettered  man 
to  have  told  up  the  number  of  histories  on  the 
walls  and  in  the  windows,  wherein  they  were  all 
as  if  done  with  gem-stones  ;  and  everywhere  the 
fair  stories  told  as  if  they  were  verily  alive,  and 
as  if  they  who  did  them  had  seen  them  going  on 
in  the  earth  and  in  the  heavens.  So  the  two 
waited  there  ravished  while  the  Steward  went  to 
fetch  the  Sub-prior,  and  brought  him  presently,  a 
kind  and  holy  man,  and  humble  of  demeanour. 
He  spake  to  them  and  said  :  My  daughters,  it  is 
told  me  that  ye  need  somewhat  of  our  house  in 
all  honesty  and  holiness  ;  now  when  ye  have  laid 
your  gift  on  the  altar,  if  ye  will  come  with  me 
and  our  Steward  here  to  the  parlour,  I  will 
hearken  to  all  ye  have  to  say,  and  if  the  thing 
ye  need  of  us  can  be  done,  done  it  shall  be. 
They  thanked  him  humbly,  and  went  and  made 
their  oblation,  and  prayed,  and  the  Sub-prior 
blessed  them,  and  brought  them  out  of  the 
church  into  the  parlour,  and  there  they  sat  down 
together. 

Then  the  Carline  opened  her  budget,  and  told 
how  they  two  had  suffered  from  war  and  rapine. 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  357 

and  when  they  had  been  delivered  from  a  foul 
caitiff  by  a  good  Knight  who  had  cherished  them 
with  all  honour  in  his  house,  and  all  went  well 
awhile,  it  endured  not  long,  for  needs  must  he 
go  to  the  wars,  and  there  was  he  slain :  how  they, 
to  escape  the  malice  of  the  mother  of  the  said 
Knight,  who  was  a  proud  and  hard  woman,  and 
now  that  her  son  was  dead  neither  loved  nor 
feared  aught,  must  needs  flee  away.  But  withal, 
said  the  Carline,  even  had  that  good  and  kind 
Knight  lived  and  come  back  to  us,  needs  must 
we  have  left  his  house  and  his  kindness  ere  long. 
For  this  I  must  do  you  to  wit,  says  she,  that  we 
deem  we  have  a  weird  and  a  fortune  abiding  us, 
and  that  through  all  trouble  we  shall  be  brought 
thereto  in  the  end,  and  that  the  said  Knight's 
house  of  Brookside  was  over-far  from  it.  This 
therefore  we  ask  of  you,  since  ye  have  shown 
such  kindness  unto  us  as  the  man  of  Samaria  to 
him  who  fell  amongst  thieves.  The  Sub-prior 
smiled  at  her  word  and  said :  Well,  dame,  neither 
the  priest  nor  the  Levite  pass  by  the  poor  souls. 
Father,  she  said,  thou  and  thy  house,  are  ye  foes 
or  friends  to  the  Knight  of  Longshaw  ?  The 
Sub-prior  smiled :  Friends  forsooth,  said  he,  so 
far  as  we  may  do  him  any  good ;  but  ye  wot  that 
we  give  him  no  carnal  help  with  sword  and  spear, 
yea  and  little  indeed  might  we  give  were  we 
temporal  lords,  so  far  off  as  we  be  from  Long- 
shaw, and  the  river  and  the  Wood  Masterless 
lying  all  between  us.  And  now  indeed  we  begin 
to  deem  that  the  good  Knight  may  yet  come  to 


358  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

his  above,  though  ere  he  had  given  the  Barons' 
League  that  great  overthrow  things  seemed  going 
much  awry  with  him.  Moreover  we  have  heard 
of  a  new  champion  whom  he  hath  gotten,  and 
who  counted  for  much  in  that  battle  with  the 
Barons,  and  well-nigh  as  wise  in  war  is  he  as 
the  Knight  himself,  say  men.  But  now,  my 
daughters,  what  would  ye  with  the  Lord  of  Long- 
shaw  ?  With  that  the  Maiden  took  up  the  word, 
blushing  red  like  a  rose,  and  she  said :  With  the 
Lord  of  Longshaw  it  is  perhaps  little  that  we 
have  to  do,  although  we  wish  him  all  good,  but 
it  is  rather  with  that  one  of  whom  ye  have  heard 
tell  that  he  is  a  new-come  champion  of  the  lord's. 
The  Sub-prior  smiled  withal  and  said :  But  what 
have  ye  to  do  with  this  champion  ?  The  Maiden 
blushed  no  longer,  but  said :  I  will  tell  you  the 
story  in  as  short  a  way  as  it  may  be  told :  I  was 
a  damsel  living  much  all  alone  by  the  side  of  a 
terrible  river,  not  lightly  to  be  crossed,  or  indeed 
not  at  all.  And  on  the  other  side  of  the  said 
river  was  there  a  bold  lad  of  about  my  years,  and 
we  fell  into  converse,  speaking  together  very 
sweetly  each  from  our  own  side  of  the  water. 
And  for  a  long  time  this  seemed  a  no  such  evil 
fate  for  the  two  of  us  to  endure ;  but  time  went 
on,  and  I  grew  into  a  woman  and  he  grew  into  a 
man,  and  indeed  as  bold  a  champion  as  there  is 
in  our  parts ;  and  then  indeed  it  seemed  hard 
that,  though  we  should  meet  in  speech,  yet  never 
should  mouth  meet  mouth  or  hand  meet  hand. 
But  we  lived  on  in  hope,  and   trusted   to   what 


THE  SUNDERING   FLOOD  359 

weird  had  wrought  for  us.  And  it  seemed  possi- 
bly not  so  unlike  but  that  this  bold  and  eager 
champion  might  go  wide  in  the  world,  and  some- 
how find  out  the  country  and  the  side  of  the  river 
on  which  I  was  born  and  bred.  And  in  the  mean- 
time was  I  determined  above  all  things  never  to 
think  of  anyone  else  but  this  bold  and  beautiful 
champion,  and  even  so  it  is  with  me  now.  And 
this  good  dame  here,  who  is  my  very  foster- 
mother,  and  is  somewhat  wise,  though  I  would 
hope  not  more  so  than  Holy  Church  alloweth, 
has  always  bidden  me  to  hope  to  see  my  cham- 
pion again,  and  even  so  I  do.  And  we  both 
know  that  it  is  only  amongst  the  Lord  of  Long- 
shaw  and  his  men  that  he  is  to  be  found.  Quoth 
the  Sub-prior :  And  when  he  is  found,  and  ye  let 
him  know  where  ye  are,  will  he  come  to  you, 
think  ye  ?  Even  so  we  believe,  said  the  Maiden. 
Well,  said  the  Sub-prior,  tell  me  what  ye  would 
have,  and  it  shall  be  done  for  you.  Said  the 
Carline :  We  would  come  across  the  water  and 
have  guide  and  guards  through  Wood  Masterless 
to  some  place  where  we  may  dwell  alone.  Can 
ye  do  this  much  for  us  ?  And  we  shall  be  well 
willing  to  pay  with  such-like  gems  as  ye  have 
already  seen  of  ours  for  such  a  small  house. 
Well,  said  the  Sub-prior,  that  may  well  be,  and 
to-morrow  morn  I  will  send  you  down  to  the 
ferry  that  lieth  betwixt  us  and  a  House  of  Friars 
on  the  further  side  of  the  water.  At  a  writing 
from  us  these  good  brothers  may  find  you  some 
such  dwelling  in  the  Wood  Masterless  as  ye  seek. 


360  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

and  will  furnish  you  with  way-beasts  and  guides 
thereto.  But  I  leave  it  to  you,  Carline,  whether 
ye  do  not  risk  greatly  to  take  such  a  pearl  with 
you  into  the  place  which  is  peopled  by  the  worst 
of  men.  Said  the  Carline :  To  tell  you  the  truth, 
Father,  I  have  pieces  of  wisdom  by  which  I  can 
blind  the  eyes  of  foolish  men,  so  that  they  will 
see  nothing  of  the  delicate  beauty  of  my  daughter 
here.     Well,  said  the  Sub-prior,  and  smiled. 

So  the  very  next  morning  it  was  as  the  Sub- 
prior  said.  Two  lay-brothers  brought  them 
down  to  the  water-side,  and  at  parting  gave  a 
writing  into  the  hand  of  the  Carline.  And  when 
they  were  safely  over  the  mighty  Flood,  and 
landed  on  a  pleasant  strand  where  the  water  was 
shallow  and  the  current  none  so  swift,  the  ferry- 
man spoke  a  word  of  them  to  one  of  the  brother- 
hood who  had  stood  watching  the  crossing  of  that 
boat.  With  a  friendly  greeting  he  turned  and 
led  the  way  to  the  Friary,  a  fair  stone  building, 
set  with  a  wall  both  high  and  long.  Here  met 
the  Carline  and  the  Maiden  with  a  kindly  wel- 
come, and  were  set  in  the  guest-house  to  rest  that 
night.  And,  said  the  good  brothers,  their  matter 
might  be  seen  to,  and  they  would  send  them  on 
through  the  Wood  Masterless  ;  and  that  there 
was  such  a  house  as  the  Carline  would  have, 
which  is  in  good  case,  said  they,  though  it  may 
want  here  and  there  a  nail  or  a  plank. 

And  in  the  morning  two  of  the  brothers  were 
bidden  array  themselves  and  take  sumpter-horses 
and  good  horses  for  the  women,  and  to  lead  them 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  361 

to  within  such  distance  of  the  Castle  of  Long- 
shaw  as  might  seem  good  to  the  CarHne,  and  that 
forsooth  was  but  some  dozen  miles. 

There  then  they  rested  ;  and  from  time  to  time 
the  Carline  would  go  her  errands,  and  would  see 
folk  who  would  give  her  tidings  of  how  things 
went  in  the  world.  And  ever  she  found  that  the 
tale  was  the  same.  For  the  Lord  of  Longshaw 
might  not  stretch  out  a  hand  without  thriving; 
and  ever  with  him  at  council,  or  at  privy  talk,  or 
in  the  front  of  the  battle,  was  this  marvellous 
champion,  whom  it  availed  nought  for  any  man 
to  gainsay.  At  last  the  time  began  to  seem  long 
for  the  Maiden  ;  and  the  Carline  from  time  to 
time,  when  she  did  not  know  that  she  was  nigh, 
heard  her  bewailing  that  her  man  came  not,  and 
she  heard  her  say  one  day  :  If  he  come  not  before 
long,  then  will  be  perished  some  deal  of  that 
delicate  beauty  which  I  would  above  all  things 
deliver  into  his  keeping,  so  that  he  may  know  that 
it  was  no  mere  shadow  of  a  woman  with  whom  he 
gave  and  took  in  talk  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Sundering  Flood.  And  in  very  sooth  she  began 
to  peak  and  pine,  and  the  Carline  took  her  to 
task  therefor,  and  said  that  she  herself  would  try 
to  set  this  right.  Till  on  a  day  the  Carline  knew 
for  sure  that  the  champion  had  now  turned  his 
head  from  all  his  valiances,  and  was  thinking  of 
nothing  but  of  how  he  might  come  across  her  with 
whom  he  had  such  merry  days  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Great  Water. 

Short   is  it    that  is  left  to  tell.     The  Carline 


362  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

knew  of  a  certainty  that  he  had  been  smitten  in 
felony  and  grievously  hurt,  and  that  he  had  been 
carried  to  an  hermitage  and  there  healed ;  there- 
fore she  waylaid  him  on  a  time  and  brought  him 
to  the  house  wherein  they  dwelt.  And  there, 
whether  it  were  by  her  planning  or  by  mere 
chance-hap  may  scarce  be  told,  but  such  a  thing 
befell  that  the  wrath  of  the  champion  blazed  out 
in  him,  so  that  for  some  few  minutes  he  might 
scarce  tell  what  was  before  him.  And  then  it 
was  all  over,  and  they  two  were  sealed  for  one 
another  for  what  yet  abided  them  on  the  earth. 

Now  this  is  my  tale,  and  belike  it  has  been 
somewhat  over-long,  and  therefore  it  scarce  needs 
that  ye  bid  this  damsel  tell  a  tale  for  her  part, 
which  were  indeed  better  told  by  her  casting  to 
earth  her  grey  cloak  and  showing  her  body  fairly 
dight.  For,  indeed,  this  damsel  belongeth  to 
one  who  is  your  kinsman  and  dear  friend,  and 
seemly  will  she  think  it  that  she  show  her  body 
so  dight  that  it  shall  lack  no  fairness  before  you. 


CHAPTER  LXIII.  OSBERNE  AND 
ELFHILD  MAKE  THEMSELVES 
KNOWN   TO   THEIR   PEOPLE. 

THEREWITH  the  Carline  sat  down,  and 
there  was  great  cheer  and  rumour  in  the 
hall,  and  folk  wondered  what  was  to  come 
next ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  said  but  that  they  had 
an  inkling  of  what  had  befallen.  Then  Elfhild 
arose  and  cast  off  her  grey  clothes,  and  was  clad 
thereunder  in  the  finest  of  fine  gear  of  gold  and 
of  green,  and  surely,  said  everybody,  that  never 
was  such  beauty  seen  in  hall.  And  for  a  while 
people  held  their  breaths,  as  they  that  see  a 
wonder  which  they  fear  may  pass  away.  And 
then  a  great  shout  rent  the  hall,  and  there  it  was 
done.  A  tall  man  rose  in  his  place,  a  grey  cloak 
fell  from  him,  and  he  was  clad  all  in  glittering 
armour,  and  there  was  none  that  did  not  know 
him  for  Osberne  Wulfgrimsson,  who  had  been 
called  the  Red  Lad.  And  he  said  in  a  bold  and 
free  voice  :  See,  my  masters  and  dear  friends,  if 
I  have  not  kept  tryst  with  you  ;  for  it  is  of  a 
sooth  five  years  well  told  since  I  departed  from 
Wethermel  with  little  hope  in  my  heart.  And 
now  forsooth  is  no  hope  in  my  heart,  for  all  the 
hope  has  budded  and  blossomed  and  fruited,  and 
I  am  yours  and  ye  are  mine  while  the  days 
last.  And  this  is  the  woman  that  I  have  won  ; 
and    oh  !    I    would    that     it     had  been    earlier. 


364  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

though  God  wot  I  laboured  at  it.  And  now 
I  think  ye  will  be  good  to  her  as  ye  will  be 
good  to  me,  and  what  tale  shall  there  be 
except  of  peace  and  quiet  in  these  far-away  up- 
land vales  ? 

So  passed  the  hours  into  deep  night  at  Weth- 
ermel,  and  folk,  went  to  sleep  scarce  trowing  in 
the  wonders  that  they  had  heard  and  seen.  And 
there  were  few  among  them  that  did  not  long  for 
the  dawn  and  the  daylight,  that  they  might  once 
again  cast  eyes  upon  Osberne  and  his  beloved. 
And  hard  it  were  to  say  which  of  those  twain 
was  the  loveliest.  But  surely  about  both  of  them 
there  was  then  and  always  a  sweet  wisdom  that 
never  went  beyond  what  was  due  and  meet  for 
the  land  they  lived  in  or  the  people  with  whom 
they  dwelt,  so  that  all  round  them  the  folk  grew 
better  and  not  the  worser. 


CHAPTER    LXIV.     THE    LIP   OF    THE 
SUNDERING   FLOOD. 

WHEN  it  was  the  morning  and  the  sun 
shone  through  the  house  at  Wethermel, 
those  two  arose  and  took  each  other  by 
the  hand,  and  no  word  they  spake  together,  but 
went  straight  to  the  Sundering  Flood,  and  there 
they  walked  slowly  and  daintily  along  the  very 
lip  thereof;  and  the  day  was  the  crown  of  all 
midsummer  days,  and  it  seemed  to  Elfhild  that 
never  on  the  other  side  had  the  flowers  looked 
so  fair  and  beautiful.  So  they  went  on  till  they 
came  to  the  Bight  of  the  Cloven  Knoll,  and  there 
they  looked  across  awhile  and  yet  said  nothing. 
And  Elfhild  looked  curiously  toward  that  cave 
wherein  Osberne  first  espied  her,  and  she  said  : 
How  would  it  be  if  there  were  another  one  there? 
He  laughed  and  said  :  There  is  not  another  one. 
But  she  said  :  Dost  thou  remember  that  game  I 
played  with  the  shepherd's  pipe,  how  that  the 
sheep  came  all  bundling  towards  me  ?  Dearly  I 
remember  it,  said  Osberne.  Now,  she  said,  I 
will  tell  thee  a  thing.  I  have  got  the  said  pipe 
in  my  bosom  now.  It  were  good  game  to  have 
it  forth  and  try  whether  it  has  lost  its  power. 
He  said :  Well,  try  it.  She  said :  Be  there 
sheep  about  ?  And  there  were  sheep  at  no  great 
distance. 


:^66  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

And  she  drew  forth  the  pipe  and  set  her  Hps 
to  It  and  played,  and  there  came  from  it  that  very 
same  sweet  old  tune  that  had  joyed  him  so  much 
long  aforetime.  But  when  they  looked  to  see 
what  would  happen  to  the  sheep,  lo  and  behold 
they  stirred  not  at  all  for  all  the  sweetness  of  the 
tune,  nor  made  as  if  they  heard  it.  So  they 
laughed,  albeit  each  of  them,  and  Elfhild  in 
especial,  was  a  little  grieved  that  the  power  had 
departed  from  the  pipe.  And  they  looked  down 
towards  the  water,  and  Elfhild  half  thought  to 
see  a  little  brown  man  sitting  at  the  door  of  the 
cave.  But  there  was  nothing ;  only  it  seemed  to 
them  both  that  there  came  up  from  the  water  a 
sound  that  said.  Give  it  me  back  again.  And 
Osberne  said:  Didst  thou  hear  that.''  Yea,  she 
said,  I  thought  I  heard  something.  What  shall 
we  do  ?  Said  he  :  Why  should  he  have  his  pipe 
back  again  ?  She  said  :  Let  us  see  what  will 
happen  if  we  cast  it  down  to  him.  Good,  said 
Osberne.  And  he  took  the  pipe,  and  as  deftly  as 
he  might  he  cast  it  towards  the  mouth  of  the  cave, 
but  it  fell  a  long  way  short.  But  lo,  as  it  was  on 
the  very  point  of  striking  the  water  it  seemed  that 
it  was  wafted  up  to  the  cave's  mouth,  and  it  van- 
ished away  into  the  cave  no  slower  than  might 
have  been  looked  for.  And  a  faint  voice  came 
up  from  the  water  and  said :  I  am  pleased ;  good 
luck  go  with  you. 

So  they  sat  down  and  pondered  on  these  things 
awhile,  till  at  last  Elfhild  said  :  Now  will  I  tell 
thee  a  tale  as  in  old  days.     And  he  said :  That  is 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  367 

good.  Then  she  began  a  tale  which  was  sweet 
and  pleasant,  and  little  like  to  those  terrible 
things  that  had  happened  to  those  two  since  they 
were  sundered  by  the  Flood.  And  it  lasted  long, 
and  the  afternoon  was  hot,  and  they  were  fain 
for  coolness'  sake  to  creep  into  the  shadow  of 
certain  bushes  that  grew  a  little  off  the  lip  of  the 
Sundering  Flood.  There  they  rested  them,  and 
when  the  shadows  began  to  lengthen  they  arose 
and  went  back  hand  in  hand  to  Wethermel  as 
they  had  come. 


CHAPTER  LXV.  A  FRIEND  AT  NEED. 

IT  was  some  three  years  after  this  that  weap- 
oned  men  came  down  into  the  Dale.  It 
was  told  to  Osberne,  and  he  took  his  sword 
and  went  to  meet  them.  He  came  across  them 
as  they  fared  slowly  down  the  bent,  looking 
weary  and  fordone.  He  looked  at  them,  and  he 
saw  that  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  that  the 
chiefest  of  them,  and  there  were  but  three,  was 
the  Lord  of  Longshaw.  So  he  ran  up  to  him, 
and  cast  his  arms  about  him  and  kissed  him,  and 
asked  him  what  ailed.  And  the  Lord  said,  and 
laughed  withal :  That  has  befallen  me  which 
befalls  most  men  :  I  have  been  overcome,  and  I 
believe  that  my  foes  are  hard  on  my  heels.  Will 
they  be  a  many  ?  said  Osberne.  Not  in  this 
first  stour,  said  the  Lord.  Well,  said  Osberne,  I 
will  go  and  look  to  it  to  get  a  few  men  together 
to  show  them  out  of  the  Dale.  So  he  turned 
hand  in  hand  with  the  Lord  of  Longshaw,  and 
cried  out  to  Stephen  the  Eater  to  gather  forth ; 
and  in  an  hour  or  so  they  had  enough  men  and 
to  spare.  By  that  time  the  pursuers  came  glitter- 
ing over  the  bent,  so  Osberne  and  his  gathered 
themselves  together  and  stood  till  the  others 
came.  And  when  they  were  within  hail,  Osberne 
asked  :  What  would  ye  here  in  arms  ?  We  are 
peaceable    men.     Said    the    pursuers :    We    have 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  369 

nought  to  do  with  you,  but  we  would  have  the 
body  of  a  felon  and  a  traitor  hight  the  Lord  of 
Longshaw.  Osberne  laughed  and  said :  Here 
he  stands  beside  me  ;  come  and  take  him  !  And 
the  foe  were  some  three  score,  all  a-horseback. 
So  they  fell  on  without  more  words  ;  but  they 
made  nothing  of  it,  and  the  Wethermellers  kept 
them  aloof  with  spear  and  bill.  Albeit  Osberne 
did  not  draw  his  sword,  nor  did  the  Lord  of 
Longshaw. 

Then  the  foemen  held  off  a  little,  and  they 
said :  Hark  ye,  ye  up-countrymen,  if  ye  do  not 
give  up  this  man,  then  will  we  burn  your  house 
to  the  threshold.  Yea,  said  Osberne,  ye  have  all 
day  long  to  do  it  in,  make  no  delay  therefore.  Or 
did  ye  ever  hear  who  I  am  ?  And  they  said  : 
Nay,  we  know  not.  Then  he  let  his  red  cloak 
float  over  him  and  let  his  byrny  show  glittering, 
and  he  drew  Board-cleaver  and  suddenly  cried 
out.  The  Red  Lad !  The  Red  Lad !  and  all  the 
others  did  in  like  wise.  Then  the  foemen  fled  up 
the  bent.  And  Osberne  said :  Lightfoot  men 
of  Wethermel,  here  is  a  job  for  you  :  let  not  one 
of  these  men  escape  from  out  of  the  Dale.  So 
they  fell  to,  and  hard  they  worked  at  it ;  and  so 
they  wrought  that  they  slew  them  every  one. 
Then  Osberne  went  back  to  the  Lord  of  Long- 
shaw and  said  :  See,  master,  it  is  still  a  name  to 
conjure  with.  And  now  what  wilt  thou  do  ? 
Wilt  thou  gather  men  in  the  Dale  here  ?  We 
can  find  thee  a  ten  score  or  thereabout  of  as  good 
men  as  need  be.     Nay,  said  the  Lord,  I  will  not 

24 


370  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

have  them,  for  meseems  I  am  getting  towards  the 
end  of  my  tether,  and  I  will  not  carry  away  your 
good  men  and  true  from  your  wives  and  your 
children.  So  therewith  they  went  into  the  stead 
and  were  joyful  together. 


CHAPTER    LXVI.      THE    LORD   OF 
LONGSHAW    GATHERETH    FORCE. 

THE  Lord  of  Longshaw  abode  at  Wether- 
mel  in  much  content,  and  much  it 
pleased  him  to  look  upon  the  beauty  of 
Elf  hild  and  the  fairness  of  the  life  that  men  lived 
in  the  Dale.  At  last  he  said  :  Now  I  must  shake 
off  my  sloth  somewhat,  and  it  will  be  a  case  of 
farewell.  Will  it  ?  said  Osberne.  Yea,  said  the 
Lord,  for  I  will  to  East  Cheaping,  and  there  I 
will  set  me  to  gather  men,  and  I  look  to  it  that, 
ere  three  months  are  over,  I  shall  have  a  good 
host  on  foot.     It  is  well,  said  Osberne. 

So  in  two  days'  time  the  Lord  went,  with  his 
two  men  that  had  fled  into  the  Dale  with  him, 
to  East  Cheaping,  and  Osberne  rode  with  him. 
"When  they  came  to  East  Cheaping  the  Lord  said  : 
Now  is  the  time  for  farewell.  Nay,  nay,  said 
Osberne,  there  shall  be  no  farewell  this  time  at 
least ;  but  I  will  help  thee  with  the  gathering  of 
men,  and  when  we  have  got  an  host  I  will  be  the 
leader  thereof.  This  thou  must  not  gainsay  me. 
Said  the  Lord  :  But  gainsay  thee  I  will,  for  un- 
less thou  gettest  thee  back  to  thine  own  people  I 
will  break  up  my  whole  purpose.  And  why  ^ 
said  Osberne.  Thou  art  blind  not  to  see,  said 
the  Lord.     I  come  and  find  thee  here  as  happy 


372  THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD 

as  any  man  in  the  world,  wedded  to  a  fair  wife, 
the  lord  of  a  stout  and  stalwart  people  who  love 
thee  above  all  things.  And  I  have  that  in  me 
that  tells  me  that  if  I  carry  thee  away  I  carry  thee 
away  to  death.  For  I  have  seen  thee  in  a  dream  of 
the  night  and  in  a  dream  of  the  day  living  at 
Wethermel  and  dying  on  the  field  near  the  City 
of  the  Sundering  Flood.  Said  Osberne :  And 
shall  I  choose  dishonour  then  ?  Nay,  he  said, 
where  is  the  dishonour  ?  Besides,  take  this  for 
a  gibe,  that  whereas  time  agone  I  could  do  but 
ill  without  thee,  now  I  can  do  without  thee  well, 
for  I  have  three  or  four  fellows  will  come  to  my 
call  as  soon  as  they  know  that  my  banner  is  in 
the  field  again.  Wherefore,  I  tell  thee,  thou  must 
either  be  my  unfriend,  or  get  thee  back  home 
my  friend  and  my  lad.  So  when  Osberne  saw  it 
would  no  better  be,  he  wept  and  bade  farewell  to 
the  Lord  of  Longshaw,  and  went  his  ways  back 
home.  Six  months  hence  he  heard  true  tidings 
of  the  Lord,  that  he  had  gathered  an  host 
and  fallen  on  his  foes,  and  had  fared  nowhere 
save  to  thrive.  And  it  is  not  said  that  he  met 
the  Lord  of  Longshaw  face  to  face  again  in  this 
life. 

It  is  further  to  be  told  that  once  in  every 
quarter  Osberne  went  into  that  same  dale  where- 
in he  first  met  Steelhead,  and  there  he  came 
to  him,  and  they  had  converse  together;  and 
though  Osberne  changed  the  aspect  of  him  from 
year  to  year,  as  for  Steelhead  he  changed  not  at 


THE   SUNDERING   FLOOD  373 

all,  but  was  ever  the  same  as  when  Osberne  first 
saw  him,  and  good  love  there  was  between  those 
twain. 

Now  is  there  no  more  to  say  concerning  the 
Sundering  Flood  and  those  that  dwelt  thereby. 


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